debts instead of givetimeforpersonsowingdebts to pay, make such provision for the payment of instead of provide for the payment. Passives. These are also one of the main features of legal texts and formal
documents. But in some cases, the active verb can be more suitable than the passi e
verb, so you need to be careful when working with these forms. In some cases, the
meaning given in the text cannot be expressed without passive verbs, and the
passive voice remains the only choice because there is almost no other unit in the
language that can perform this task. In the following example, you can see the
usage of passives in legal writing:
“As tax increases are ruled out, lower marginal tax rates and a broadened tax base are advised, similar to what was practiced in the United States at the time.”
[Washingtons Consensus For the Development Strategy]
Long and complex sentences. According to legal scientist Driedger, the use of
long and complex words in documents is one of the main features of English
official style. Because the legal text requires definite and exact units and there
should be no confusion in the meaning of each sentence. In fact, most of the
Common Law System uses a lot of words in one sentence and the sentences are
therefore very long, sometimes even more than 10 sentences. You can see an
example of a similar sentence below:
“The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three- fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that
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no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.” [Constitution of the US, Article V]