RI legalese needs revision: Expert<\/p>\n
A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Noted legal expert Harkristuti Harkrisnowo suggested on Thursday
\nthat long sentences and foreign terms be avoided in legal
\ndocuments to make legal language easy to understand for ordinary
\npeople.<\/p>\n
\"The use of long sentences and foreign terms means legal
\nlanguage can only be understood by lawyers. It seems legal
\nlanguage has been separated from the Indonesian language,\"
\nHarkristuti of the University of Indonesia said in a plenary
\nsession of the 8th Indonesian Language Congress.<\/p>\n
She said long sentences and foreign words could be found in
\nlaws, legal circulars, contracts and dossiers.<\/p>\n
Many foreign terms, especially Dutch, were common since
\nIndonesian laws were based on Dutch laws.<\/p>\n
Some English legal terms have also entered the country's legal
\nsystem, especially laws related to issues on bankruptcy and
\ncommercial courts.<\/p>\n
Harkristuti acknowledged that changing the style of legal
\nlanguage was not easy as it had already become a practice of
\nlegal practitioners who want to avoid misinterpretation.<\/p>\n
\"We have to follow principles in Indonesian language to avoid
\nmisinterpretation and multiple interpretations,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She suggested experts on law and Indonesian language should
\nmeet to formulate Indonesian legal terms, concepts and
\ninterpretations in a bid to develop Indonesia's legal language.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, head of the State Administrative Institute (LAN)
\nAnwar Suprijadi said that there was an increasing tendency to use
\nforeign terms, especially English, in state administrative
\naffairs and activities.<\/p>\n
Anwar claimed foreign terms were used since there were no
\nsimilar words in the Indonesian language or the Indonesian
\ntranslations were not precise.<\/p>\n
\"But the problem is foreign terms are often used in the wrong
\ncontext,\" he said in a panel discussion at the congress.<\/p>\n
He said the use of Bahasa Indonesia has a strong legal basis
\nas it is the only official language mentioned in the
\nconstitution.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-legalese-needs-revision-expert-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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