Open AccessA simplification of the Consumer Rights Act. Plain legal language and legal language
Author(s) -
Natalia Zych
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
oblicza komunikacji
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2083-5345
DOI - 10.19195/2083-5345.11.4
Subject(s) - plain language , legislature , legal profession , legal research , plain english , law , linguistics , computer science , political science , philosophy
The article examines the idea of plain legal language as a standard in creating comprehensible and effective communication in legislative acts. It features plain legal language techniques and tools used to tackle the visual and linguistic layer of legal texts. Selected techniques were implemented to experimentally modify the Polish Consumer Rights Act of 30 May 2014. The document, transformed in the spirit of plain legal language, was then submitted for assessment to lawyers as well as individuals with no legal background. The article features the results of the experiment as well as conclusions which make it possible to say whether the “simplified” act is more comprehensible to an average reader, and to assess the cost of the changes introduced in the original provisions of the law.