1. Plain legal French in Canada and in the world:
linguistic and legal challenges
Nicole-Marie Fernbach, LL.M.
Lisbon | October 12, 2010

2.  Canada is a a bilingual country with two official
languages: English and French
 Canada has two legal systems: common law and
civil law
Plain legal French in Canada:
linguistic and legal context
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3. “The Constitution Act, 1867 requires federal laws to be enacted in both
official languages and makes both versions equally authentic. It is
therefore of primary importance that bills and regulations be prepared
in both official languages. It is not acceptable for one version to be a
mere translation of the other. For this reason, sponsoring departments
and agencies must ensure that they have the capability to develop
policy, consult, and instruct legislative drafters in both official
languages. Both versions of legislation must convey their intended
meaning in clear and accurate language.
It is equally important that bills and regulations respect both the common
law and civil law legal systems since both systems operate in Canada
and federal laws apply throughout the country. When concepts
pertaining to these legal systems are used, they must be expressed in
both languages and in ways that fit into both systems.”
“Cabinet Directive on Law-making”
Privy Council Office: www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/
Plain legal French in Canada:
linguistic and legal context (cont’d)
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4. Bilingualism and bijuralism - an illustration
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5. ©2010 CIL. May not be reproduced without permission. 5
Bilingualism and bijuralism –
an illustration (cont’d)
“[I]t is imperative that the four Canadian legal audiences (Francophone civil
law lawyers, Francophone common law lawyers, Anglophone civil law
lawyers and Anglophone common law lawyers) may, on the one hand, read
federal statutes and regulations in the official language of their choice and,
on the other, be able to find in them terminology and wording that are
respectful of the concepts, notions and institutions proper to the legal
system (civil law or common law) of their province or territory.”
(not underlined in the original)
Policy on Legislative Bijuralism, Department of Justice of Canada, 1995

6. Bilingualism and bijuralism –
an illustration (cont’d)
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Consequently, the drafting of laws in French was inspired by the
following sources:
 French-Canadian “Légistique”: Guide fédéral de jurilinguistique
législative française (JLF)
www.justice.gc.ca/fra/min-dept/pub/juril/index.html
 Québec “Légistique”: Guide de rédaction législative, TREMBLAY, R. et al.,
http://catalogue.nrcan.gc.ca/
 Legislative Drafting in France, Belgium, Switzerland and the EU (see,
infra, Ref. p.16)

7.  When did it all start?
• The Canadian Law Information Council (Plain Language Center,
1988-1992)
• The National Plain English Conference, in Cambridge, UK, A
meeting with Clarity and the Plain English Campaign, in July 1990
1. Plain French in law: the plain language
movement in Canada
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8. A Canadian approach to Drafting in French started to develop under the
influence of Clarity and the Plain English Movement, from other Commonwealth
jurisdictions and the USA.
 Sparer et Schwab (1980). Rédaction des lois : rendez-vous du droit et de la
culture, Québec.
 The Law Reform Commission of Canada (1981). Drafting Laws in French,
Study Paper, Ottawa. (same authors and M. Lajoie)
But there was a missing link?
1.1 Plain French in law: a French connection
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9.  A problem with labels or key-words:
Plain language, clarity, readability, clear language, simplification, clear and
simple language, simple language, ordinary language/langage clair, clarté,
lisibilité, simplification, langage clair et simple, langage simple, langue
accessible, communication claire et efficace.
 Necessary distinction between plain French and plain legal
French:
Uncertain boundaries. Hierarchy.
“Whatever the type – legislation, a technical report, minutes, a press release or
speech – a clear document will be more effective, and more easily and
quickly understood.” (“How to write clearly”)
 “Plainness” in translation:
Plain French, as genuine or a product of translation or of adaptation.
“Translation+”
1.2 Plain French in law: a link to be made
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10.  Purpose of readability in law (Lisibilité juridique)
• A written communication strategy or style that makes the most of
all the resources of the language in order to create a document
that is read, understood and memorized for action.
• France and Belgium: psycholinguistic research on intelligibility
and reading.
 Subjects of Lisibilité juridique
• Statutes and regulations, judicial decisions, contracts, or other
legal documents and their derivatives (documents aiming at
explaining the law).
 Civil law and French legal culture
• A citizen’s right to understand the law. Compliance with drafting
rules.
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1.3 Plain French in law: a link that was made
… in 1990

11. 2. Legal writing and drafting in plain French:
achievements and challenges
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In Canada, as of 1990, plain French:
welcomed by drafters and writers in common law jurisdictions as it ensured
parallelism between the 2 versions, be it statutory drafting, court decisions,
contract writing or government communications (strategic planning);
welcomed and integrated by writers and decision-makers in Québec departments and
government communications services, within simplification programs and
strategic planning;
considered essential for graphic and design solutions, reader-oriented for forms
and general public information;
welcomed and integrated in community, literacy, adult education and public legal
information areas;
elsewhere: in France and Belgium, recognized insofar as plain language is a means
towards “simplification”; however, Belgium is a leader in simple judicial and
administrative writing (EASI-WAL). See SIMPLEX in Portugal.

12. A. No need for a new set of rules, as civil law is already “plain”
 Codification and revision on an ongoing basis (obsolete, archaic, Latin
or foreign terms, formal inconsistencies removed, no change in
substance).
 Lexical choices mostly from the dictionary of common usage.
Avoidance of unnecessary definitions. The dictionary rules…
 Logical structure, deductive inferences, from general to specific, old to
new, rule to application, cause to consequence…
 Synonyms and horizontal strings of nouns not allowed.
 Simple syntactical structures, subordinates to be avoided, if possible;
one-sentence provisions. Strict paragraphing: no discursive style.
 Present tense, active voice.
 Over referencing to be avoided.
 …..
2.1 Plain French: a hard sale… at first
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13. B. Reasons for resistance found in the “continental” style
 Linguistic specificity:
English language is not rule-based, it is a loose system; Latin structures or
words are foreign to Saxon culture, but clear in French.
Opacity due to poor writing technique and ignorance of the rules of grammar,
usage and composition.
 Systemic differences:
Common law is precedent-based, hence the importance of Court-tested
language, a source of difficulty for lay persons. Enumerations used to be
exhaustive; no implied meaning, as in the deductive approach. Civil law is
plainer.
 Deductive approach in civil law closer to cognitive process: from general
to specific.
Legislation is to be objective, general, permanent and impersonal. Not to be
adapted to the reader as in audience segmentation.
 Formal resistance: if it looks like a statute… therefore it must be a statute.
No place for tables, charts, examples, pictures, etc., so as to keep the
normative nature of the text.
2.1 Plain French : a hard sale… at first (cont’d)
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14.  A reader-oriented simplification: except for statute and regulations, legal
documents would indeed prove easier to read and to use
 Choice of words: less syllables, more common usage, no foreign words, no
Latin, concrete, definition of technical terms, short nouns
 Short and simple sentences: except for statutes and regulations, legal
documents would have easier to retain information, active voice, more verbs
and positive tone
 Clear meaning: no ambiguity, no jargon or “cut-and-paste”, “broiler plate” type,
with a testing of forms and brochures
 Attractive and user-friendly design and organization: essential role of
graphic designers for tables, pictures, cartoons, symbols, math. formulas…
except for statutes and regulations.
2.2 “Clear French” as a model both accepted
and convincing     
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15.  Canada and Québec: integration of plain French by courts, whether judicial
or administrative, Canadian Judicial Institute, Bar associations, securities
commissions, banks, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, insurance and
trust companies. Search by keyword.No central URL.
 Belgium: French style guide; government training programs in “lisibilité
juridique”, research and publication of text books by judicial bodies,
standardization in regulation-making (templates)
 Switzerland: express and declared acceptance of some of the principles of
plain French writing, gender-neutral structures, etc.
 France: Conseil pour la simplification du langage administratif (COSLA)(2003):
Style Guide; Lexicon, now Le Décodeur, Ed.Robert.
 European Union: Joint Practical Guide and Institutional Style guide; “How to
write Clearly” and also “Writing for translation”, in French.
2.3 “Clear French” : a new writing style
bound to expand in Canada and elsewhere
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16. References
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ÉDUCALOI (2010). « Dire le droit pour être compris », Conference on plain language
and the law, October 21 22, 2010‑ www.colloque.educaloi.qc.ca/en/
FERNBACH, Nicole (1990). La lisibilité dans la rédaction juridique au Québec, Ottawa,
Centre canadien d’information juridique.
SAVOIE THOMAS, Sylvette et Gérard SNOW (2010). Listes d’outils linguistiques pour
la traduction juridique au Canada
www.cttj.ca/Documents/Outilspourlatraductionjuridique_copiemaitresse_.pdf
VANDERLINDEN, Jacques, Gérard SNOW et Donald POIRIER (2010). La common
law de A à Z, Cowansville, Yvon Blais, et Bruxelles, Bruylant.
Portail linguistique du Canada:
http://www.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-fra.html?lang=fra&srchtxt=&i=1&index=ent
Belgium:
CONSEIL D’ÉTAT (2008). Guide de rédaction des textes législatifs et réglementaires.
MINISTÈRE DE LA COMMUNAUTÉ FRANÇAISE DE BELGIQUE, Service de la
langue française (2000). Écrire pour être lu, comment rédiger des textes

17. References (cont’d)
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European Union:
CENTRE DE TRADUCTION DES ORGANES DE L’UNION EUROPÉENNE (2003).
Écrire pour être traduit.
EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2009), DG Traduction. Rédiger clairement
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/publications/brochures/clear_writing/how_to_write_clea
EUROPEAN COMMISSION. Helping to improve the quality of drafting of
Community legislation
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/legal_service/legal_reviser_en.htm#common
EUROPEAN COMMISSION. Simplification of legislation glossary
http://europa.eu/scadplus/glossary/legislation_simplification_en.htm
EUROPEAN COMMISSION. Better Regulation (Mieux légiférer)
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/legal_service/law_making_en.htm
EUROPEAN NETWORK FOR BETTER REGULATION.
http://www.enbr.org/biblio.php
OFFICE DES PUBLICATIONS DE L’UNION EUROPÉENNE. Code de rédaction
interinstitutionnel, http://publications.europa.eu/code/fr/fr-000900.htm

18. References (cont’d)
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France:
CONSEIL D’ÉTAT (2007). Guide pour l’élaboration des textes législatifs et
réglementaires, 2e
éd., Paris, La Documentation Française.
http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/catalogue/9782110059659/index.shtml
CONSEIL D’ÉTAT (2007). Guide de légistique (réédition), La Documentation
Française.
www.legifrance.gouv.fr/html/Guide_legistique_2/accueil_guide_leg.htm
Spain:
GOBIERNO DE ESPAÑA, Ministerio de Justicia (2009). Legislar Mejor 2009.
SANTAOLALLA LÓPEZ, Fernando (ed.) (2008). Técnica normativa en la Union
Europea, 2 volumes, Secretaría General del Senado.
Switzerland:
OFFICE FÉDÉRAL DE LA JUSTICE (2007). Guide de législation, Guide pour
l’élaboration de la législation fédérale, 3e
édition.

19. Some books
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Min. of Public Works and
Government Services of Canada,
reprinted since1990

20. Thank you.
For more information, you may contact:
juricom@juricom.com