SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies

Name of School -______________

Program: B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) & B.B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) Semester: II

Course/Module: Legal English Module Code:

Teaching Scheme Evaluation Scheme

Lecture Practical Term End
Tutorial Internal Continuous
(Hours (Hours Examinations (TEE)
(Hours per Credit Assessment (ICA)
per per (Marks- 50 in
week) (Marks - 50)
week) week) Question Paper)
Marks Scaled to 50 Marks Scaled to 50
4 0 0 4
Pre-requisite: Basic understanding and appreciation of literature
Objectives:
The objective of this paper is to enable learners to:
1. negotiate the indeterminacy of language, literature and law
2. enable learners to understand the intricacies of composing persuasive drafts
3. appreciate the broader and deeper context of legal issues embedded in literary narratives
4. involve in emotions and take diverse perspectives to reason through seasoned discussions.
Outcomes:
At the completion of this paper, the learners:
1. will be able to comprehend the complexities of legal language (esp. in India). (PLO 1a & 1b)
2. can apply the principles of drafting to effectively demonstrate writing in a persuasive style.
(PLO 2a & 2b)
3. can take a judicious view by challenging the general assumptions of law on the changing
human emotions and reasons of the day. (PLO 3a & 3b)
4. can analytically examine and construct law through the ethical sentiments of literature. (PLO
4a & 4b)
Detailed Syllabus: (per session plan)

Unit Description Duration

(hrs)
1.  Introduction to the syllabus, and course expectations 1 Hr
 Explanation of ICA project guidelines for Legal English
2. Topic Details: Development and Evolution of English language 1 Hr
Basic Reading: Rupert Haigh. Legal English. 2nd Ed. Taylor and Francis. 2009.
Pp. 1-2
Weblinks:
https://www.oxfordinternationalenglish.com/a-brief-history-of-the-english-
language/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/English-language
Pedagogy: class discussion
 SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies

Name of School -______________

Topic Details: Necessity for study of legal language for law students
Basic Reading: Prasad, Anirudh. Outlines of Legal Language in India. Central 1 Hr
Law Publications, 2014. Pp 57
Pedagogy: class discussion
3.
Topic Details: Language and structure in (drafting) legal documents
Basic Reading: Rupert Haigh. Legal English. 2nd Ed. Taylor and Francis. 2009.
pg 119-137
4. Pedagogy: class discussion 2 Hrs

Topic Details: Constitutional provisions related to language and the language

of Courts
Basic Reading: Prasad, Anirudh. Outlines of Legal Language in India. Central
Law Publications, 2014. Pp. 111-135
5. Pedagogy: class discussion
1 Hr
Topic Details: Legal maxims (Latin) and foreign words
[Please note: List attached at the end of the syllabus]
Basic Reading: Prasad, Anirudh. Outlines of Legal Language in India. Central 2 Hrs
Law Publications, 2014. Pp. 136-217
6.
Pedagogy: class discussion and workshop method
Topic Details: Differentiating between legal and ordinary meaning of words
Basic Reading: Rupert Haigh. Legal English. 2nd Ed. Taylor and Francis. 2009.
Pp. 4- 5 1 Hr
7. Pedagogy: class discussion and workshop method

Topic Details: Ambiguity and problem words in Legal Drafting

Basic Reading:
 Rupert Haigh. Legal English. 2nd Ed. Taylor and Francis. 2009. Pp.67-75
 Prasad, Anirudh. Outlines of Legal Language in India. Central Law
Publications, 2014. Pp 68-110
8. 2 Hrs
Pedagogy: class discussion and workshop method
Topic Details: Play: George Bernard Shaw, The Apple Cart (1928)
Basic Reading: Gautam Sengupta, Myriad Minded Shaw: Perspectives on Shavian
Drama. (Politics, War and History). PHI Learning. 2016. Pp. 1 -7
9. Pedagogy: Discussion on story, background and philosophy of the playwright 3 Hrs

Topic Details: Play: The Apple Cart (Act I)

Basic Reading: 3 Hrs
Text: Shaw, George Bernard. The Apple Cart. Maple Press. 2013
10. Pedagogy: Reading of the play: understanding characters & setting
 SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies

Name of School -______________

Topic Details: Play: The Apple Cart (Act II)

Basic Reading: 3 Hrs
Text: Shaw, George Bernard. The Apple Cart. Maple Press. 2013
11. Pedagogy: Reading of the play: understanding characters & setting
Topic Details: Play: George Bernard Shaw, The Apple Cart
Basic Reading:
Discussion Text:
 Alexander Hamilton & James Madison, Federalist Papers - No. 9, 10 & 51
(1787-88)
Discussion keywords: Democracy and Republic, tyranny of the majority,
governance, veto power, Constitutional Monarchy, Legislature & Executive,
checks and balance, separation of powers, plutocracy, Philosopher King
(Plato), etc
Advance Reading:
 Warren Sylvester Smith. “The Search for Good Government. The Apple
Cart, On the Rocks, and Geneva”. The Shaw Review. Vol. 21.1. 1978. pp. 20-
30
 Howard Ira Einsohn. “The Intelligent Reader’s Guide to The Apple Cart”.
Shaw. 1989. Vol 9. Shaw OffStage: The Nondramatic Writings. 1989. Pp 145-
150.

12. Pedagogy: Discussion on key concepts, discussion text, highlighted keywords 3 Hrs
and reference articles.
Topic Details: Play: George Bernard Shaw, The Apple Cart
Reading Material:
Articles:
 Bernard Dukore. “How to win an Election. Shaw”. Vol. 31.1. 2011. Pp 179-
191
 Brook Miller. “Late Capitalism and United States in The Apple Cart”. Shaw.
Vol. 26. 2006. Pp 118-134.
13. Pedagogy: Discussion on possible perspectives, legal concepts and emerging 3 Hrs
perspectives
Topic Details: Play: William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice [Act IV, Scene
I: The Court of Justice] (1596-99)
Basic Reading:
Text: Shakespeare, William. “The Merchant of Venice”. William Shakespeare: The
Complete Works. (Ed.) Colin Alexander. The English Language Book Society.
1964
14. 3 Hrs
Pedagogy: Discussion on story, background and philsophy of the playwright
15. Topic Details: Play: William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice [Act IV, Scene 3 Hrs
I: The Court of Justice]
Basic Reading:
 SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies

Name of School -______________

Text: Shakespeare, William. “The Merchant of Venice”. William Shakespeare: The

Complete Works. (Ed.) Colin Alexander. The English Language Book Society.
1964
Pedagogy: Reading of the play & understanding character setting
Topic Details: Play: William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

Basic Reading:
Discussion keywords: Ethical tenets of law, nature and essentials of a contract,
moral limits of contracts (Michael Sandel), principles of justice, fairness and
equity (Rawls), prejudices of judiciary and society, etc.
Advance Reading:
Articles:
 Nambiar, Rakesh. “Shylock v Antonio: Socio-legal complexities in William
Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice”. Literary Voice. Vol. 13.1. Canada.
March 2021. Pp 42 – 48
 Lee Trepanier. Contract, Friendship and Love in The Merchant of Venice.
Perspectives on Political Science. Vol. 43.4. 2014. Pp. 204-212
 Gavin MacKenzie. Shakespeare and the Law. This paper was presented at
the Chief Justice of Ontario’s Advisory Committee on Professionalism’s
Sixth Colloquium at the University of Toronto’s Law School on March 10,
2006. 3 Hrs

16. Pedagogy: Discussion on Immanuel Kant’s The Moral Law, highlighted

keywords and reference articles.
Topic Details: Play: William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

Advance Reading:
 Th. Neimeyer. The Judgment against Shylock in The Merchant of Venice.
Michigan Law Review. Vol. 14.1. 1915. 20-36.
 Benjamin Ravid. The Legal Status of Jewish Merchants of Venice, 1541-
1638. The Journal of Economic History. Vol. 35.1. 1975. Pp. 274-279.

17. Pedagogy: Discussion on legal concepts, emerging perspectives in the play, 3 Hrs
and reference articles.
Topic Details: Prose: Rabindranath Tagore, Nationalism in India (1917)
Basic Reading:
Text: Rabindranath Tagore, Nationalism. Chp. 3: “Nationalism in India”. World
Public Library Edition. Classic Literature Collection. E-book. Originally written
-1917. pp. 95-130 3 Hrs
Pedagogy: Understanding background, author’s philosophy, and reading of
18.
the text
 SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies

Name of School -______________

Topic Details: Prose: Rabindranath Tagore, Nationalism in India

Basic Reading:
Discussion Text: George Orwell, Notes on Nationalism (1945)
Discussion keywords: Patriotism, nationalism v. humanism, types of
nationalism, regime of truth (Foucault), freedom of expression and dissent, etc.
Advance Reading: Nn. Vladamir’s Choice. The Economist. Christmas Essay.
Dec. 23rd 2016. Pp. 53-58
3 Hrs
Pedagogy: Discussion on a comparative understanding between Tagore and
19. Orwell, as well as views on the listed keywords and reference article

Topic Details: Short Play: Henrick Ibsen, The Enemy of the People (1882)
Basic Reading:
Text: Abridged version in Pojman, Louis. The Moral Life: An Introductory Reader
in Ethics and Literature. Oxford University Press. 2000 [Part – I: The Nature of
Morality: Good and Evil: Is Everything Relative?] pp. 196-217 (Also read: 3 Hrs
Benedict pg 151 and Pojman pg 160)
20. Pedagogy: Understanding the playwright, background and reading of the play
Topic Details: Short Play: Henrick Ibsen, The Enemy of the People
Basic Reading:
Discussion text: Michael Sandel, Justice: What’s the right thing to do? Read
subsection: “Obligations beyond consent”, and “Can Loyalty Override
Universal Moral Principles” of chapter 9: “What do we owe one another? /
Dilemmas of loyalty”. pg:117-126
Discussion keywords: Society v individual, Justice, obligation and consent,
natural duties, etc.
Advance Reading:
 Terrance McConnell. Moral Combat in “An Enemy of the People”: Public
Health versus Private Interests. Public Health Ethics. Vol. 3.1. Oxford
University Press. 2010. Pp. 80-86.
 Tom Eide. Understood Complexity: Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People”.
E:CO. Vol. 11.3. 2009. Pp. 1-15. 3 Hrs

21. Pedagogy: Discussion on play through the lens of Sandel’s subtopics in Justice:
What’s the right thing to do?, highlighted keywords and reference articles.
22. Topic Details: Short Play: Henrick Ibsen, The Enemy of the People 3 Hrs
Basic Reading:
 Harold Knutson. “An Enemy of the People: Ibsen’s Reluctant Comedy.
Comparative Drama. Vol. 27.2. 1993. Pp. 159-175.
Advance Reading:
 Noorbaksh Hooti and Amin Davoodi. The battle between responsibility
and manipulation in Henrik Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People”.
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science. Vol. 1.20. 2011.

Pedagogy: Discussion on legal concepts, emerging perspectives in the play and

 SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies

Name of School -______________

reference articles

Topic Details: Persuasive Style and Writing: Principles: Analytical and

Persuasive
Basic Reading: Garner, Bryan A. Legal Writing in Plain English: A Text with
Exercises. 2nd Ed. University of Chicago Press, London. 2013. Part Two. Pp. 53- 3 Hrs
88
23. Pedagogy: Workshop method
Topic Details: Persuasive Style and Writing: Principles for Legal Drafting &
Plain English
Basic Reading: Garner, Bryan A. Legal Writing in Plain English: A Text with
Exercises. 2nd Ed. University of Chicago Press, London. 2013. Part three. Pp. 89-
120 2 Hrs

24. Pedagogy: Workshop method

Topic Details: Persuasive Style and Writing: Principles for Legal Style &
Document Design
Basic Reading:
 Garner, Bryan A. Legal Writing in Plain English: A Text with Exercises. 2nd Ed.
University of Chicago Press, London. 2013. Part Four. Pp.121-134.
 Rupert Haigh. Legal English. 2nd Ed. Taylor and Francis. 2009. Pp. 140
 Mathew Butterick. Typography for Lawyers: Essential Tools for Polished and
Persuasive Documents. Bryan Garner. 3rd Ed. 2002 (pg 22-23, 19-20 & 57-60)

25. Pedagogy: Workshop method 1 Hr

Topic Details: Persuasive Style and Writing: Understanding wit & humour in
law
Basic Reading:
 Hon. Stanley Mosk. Courtroom Humour. Greenbag. Autumn. 1998. Pp. 1-3.
 Jacob Stein. Have you heard the new lawyer joke about . . . 9 Greenbag 2D.
2006. 397-399.
 Justice Gyanendra Kumar. Law and Laughter. (compiled) High Court
Allahabad.

26. Pedagogy: Discussion method 1 Hr

27. Topic Details: Persuasive Style and Writing: Literature in Judgments and 1 Hr
Political Speeches
Basic Reading:
 SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies

Name of School -______________

Indian Court Cases for illustration:

 Nandini Sundar v. State of Chhattisgarh, (2011) 7 SCC 547
 Maru Ram v UOI (1981) 1 SCC 107
 Common Cause v UOI (2018) SCC online SC 2420 (In Re Sarda Mines
Pvt. Ltd.)
 Budhadev Karmaskar v State of West Bengal [2011] 10 S. C. R. 577

Political Speeches: Martin Luther King Jr. (I have a Dream, 1963), Nani
Palkiwala (14th Lecture on 7 Nov 1990) Shashi Tharoor (Oxford Union Speech,
2015), etc.

Nani Palkiwala:
https://www.cambridgetrust.org/assets/documents/Lecture_14.pdf
(Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lectures)
Pedagogy: Discussion method.
Total 60

Text Books:
1. Pojman, Louis. The Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature. Oxford
University Press. 2000 (selected parts prescribed for study)
2. Shakespeare, William. “The Merchant of Venice”. William Shakespeare: The Complete Works.
(Ed.) Colin Alexander. The English Language Book Society. 1964 (Classic)
3. Shaw, George Bernard. The Apple Cart. Maple Press. 2013
4. Tagore, Rabindranath. Nationalism. Chp. 3: “Nationalism in India”. World Public Library
Edition. Classic Literature Collection. E-book. Originally written -1917. pp. 95-130 (Classic)
 SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies

Name of School -______________

Books / materials for further reference:

1. Bryan A. Garner, Garner on Language and Law. American Bar Association. 2009
2. ____________ and Antonin Scalia. Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges.
3. ____________ and Antonin Scalia. Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts. Thompson
West. 2002
4. ____________. The Elements of Legal Style. OUP 2002
5. ____________. The Redbook Manual of Legal Style. (3rd Ed.) WEST.
6. Elmer Doonan and Charles Foster. Drafting. Cavendish Legal Skills. 2 nd Ed. 2001
7. Mathew Butterick. Typography for Lawyers: Essential Tools for Polished and Persuasive
Documents. Bryan Garner. 3rd Ed. 2002
8. Michael Freeman, Fiona Smith. “Stories in Law: Providing Space for Oppositionists?” Law and
Language (Vol. 15, Oxford. 2011)
9. Peter Butt and Richard Castle. Modern Legal Drafting. 2nd Ed. CUP. 2006
10. Richard Posner, “Law and Literature: A Manifesto”. Law and Literature. (3rd Ed. Harward
University Press 2009)
11. Roger Shuy. Creating Language Crimes: How Law Enforcement Uses (and Misuses) Language.
OUP. 2005
12. Rupert Haigh. Legal English. 2nd Ed. Taylor and Francis. 2009
13. William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. (4th Ed.) Longman 2000
14. Prasad, Anirudh. Outlines of Legal Language in India. Central Law Publications, 2014
15. Garner, Bryan A. Legal Writing in Plain English: A Text with Exercises. University of Chicago
Press, London 2001.

Any other information:

List of prescribed legal maxims for study:

1. Agentes et consentientes pari poena plectentur
2. Actus dei nemini facit injuriam
3. Ignorantia juris non excusat or ignorantia legis neminem excusat 
4. Ignorantia facti excusat
5. Volenti non fit injuria
6. Nemo dat quod non habet
7. Ex nudo pacto non oritur actio 
8. Caveat emptor
9. Actus non facit reum, nisi mens sit rea
10. Audi alteram partem
11. Salus populi suprema lex

Secondary reading (self-reading) for students:

1. Amartya Sen, The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian Culture, History and Identity.
2. George Bernard Shaw, On the Rocks
3. George Bernard Shaw, Geneva
4. Percy Bysshe Shelley, A Vindication of Natural Diet
5. Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Masque of Anarchy
6. B. R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste
 SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies

Name of School -______________

7. Mahasweta Devi, Mother of 1084

8. Albert Camus, The Rebel
9. Mary Wollstonecraft, “Dedicatory Letter” from A Vindication of the Rights of Women with
Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects
10. A.M. Bhattacharjee, Legality of Book Banning
11. Henrik Ibsen, A Doll’s House
12. Felix Frankfurter, Advice to a Young Man Interested in Going into Law
13. Justice Gordon Killeen, Judgments as Literature: Some thoughts on masters of the craft
14. Charles Dickens, Bleak House
15. Charles Dickens, Pickwick Papers
16. John Grisham, The King of Torts
17. John Grisham, The Street Lawyer
18. George Orwell, Animal Farm
19. George Orwell, 1984
20. George Orwell, Shooting an Elephant
21. Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
22. William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure
23. Vijay Tendulkar, Silence! The Court is in Session

Total Marks of Internal Continuous Assessment (ICA) : 50 Marks

Distribution of ICA Marks:

Description of ICA Marks

Research Paper 20 Marks
Seminar 10 Marks
Viva 10 Marks
Class Participation 10 Marks
Total Marks : 50

End Term Marks : 50

Dr. Rakesh Nambiar ____________

Signature Signature
(Prepared by Dr. Rakesh Nambiar) (Approved by Dean)