Last Updated on July 22, 2020 by Satish Mishra
This post is excerpt from Online Legal Drafting Course for Law Students Freshers Legal Interns discussing Fundamental Rules Of Legal Drafting. So if you are interested to learn the craft of legal drafting for courts, then this course is apt for you.
No doubt, drafting pleading & conveyancing is a subject in our law course but in actual to learn the means of legal drafting it takes a good amount of time.
Especially for young lawyers, junior advocates, law freshers, legal interns and graduates. Even law students while pendency of their 3/5 years law course are eager to learn this most sought after skill in an advocate.
For them, we have this course here.
Section- 26 of CPC tells that every suit be instituted by the presentation of a plaint or in such manner may be prescribed.
O-4, R1 of CPC suit shall be instituted by presentation of a plaint to the court or such officer as it appoints in this behalf.
Written statement -> Statement of defence in writing and filed by defendant in whom he deals with every material facts alleged by the plaintiff in the plaint and also states any new facts which may be in his favour adding such legal objections as he wishes to take to the claim.
Additional documents filed later can become the part of pleadings known as supplemental pleadings.
The objectives of pleadings are to determine issues of dispute, diminish expense and delay, regarding the amount of testimony required on either side of the hearing.
Also Read- LEGAL DRAFTING COURSE 30 DAYS
Now let’s have the fundamental rules of pleading:-
- Only Facts not law-> Do not state law to a judge. He knows it already and that’s why he is there. Thus, your pleadings should be confine to fact only.
Exception to this rule is also there
1) Foreign laws-> you have to state it.
2) Mixed laws & facts conclusions-> for sake of clarity & convenience it can be stated.
3) Presumptions-> O-6, R13 CPC states not be plead such facts where the onus of proof lies on other side unless specifically denied.
4) Customs or usages of trade-> which hasn’t got the force of law need to be pleaded.
- B) Material facts to be stated-> O-6, R2 of CPC only material facts to be stated or else you will not be able to make out which pleading is relevant. Depending on your case you should state it, how your prayers or relief are justified based on facts.
Also Read- Certificate Legal Drafting Course Online Law Students Fresher Advocates
Exceptions
- Condition precedent-> if a law mandates something then it must be complied. For e.g.- sec-80 CPC for suing government.
- Presumptions-> ‘shall presume’-> do not state
‘may presume’-> state it to court in pleading
- Matters of Inducements-> facts which state subsequent events can also be stated in petition.
- Mention facts not evidence-> one should state facts only not evidence on which party relies.
- Factum probanda-> facts required to be proved (material facts)
- Factum probantia-> facts by means of which they are to be proved (particulars or evidence).
Pleading should contain only factum probanda and not factum probantia.
- Be concise, precise & certain-> state each item in your pleading precisely, concisely and with greater degree of certainty. If more than one item, then state it separately with all particulars.
Further goal should be to attain brevity and precision
For brevity For precision
- Omit all unnecessary facts. 1) Names should be correct.
- Omit all unnecessary details when 2) pronouns He/ She/ they be avoided.
Alleging material facts. 3) do not refer plaintiff defendant by names.
- Proper attention to language alleging 4) refer them by same names throughout.
In material facts.
Also Read- Legal Drafting Course in Chandigarh Mohali Panchkula
Rest practice makes the man/ woman perfect.
So come and avail the Legal Pleading and Drafting Course today to learn the nuances of drafting of courts.
More on 99888-17966.
