Bekink, BernardBotha, C.J. (Christo)2007-09-032007-09-032007-04Bekink, B & Botha, C 2007, 'Aspects of legislative drafting : some South African realities (or plain language is not always plain sailing)', Statute Law Review, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 34-67. [http://slr.oxfordjournals.org/]0144-359310.1093/slr/hml012http://hdl.handle.net/2263/3430It seems to me that a sort of hieratic language has developed by which the priests incant the commandments. I seem to see the ordinary citizen today standing before the law like the laity in a medieval church: at the far end the lights glow, the priestly figures move to and fro, but it is in an unknown tongue that the great mysteries of right and wrong are proclaimed.210780 bytesapplication/pdfenOxford University Press. This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Statute Law Review following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available online at: http://slr.oxfordjournals.org./cgi/content/abstract/28/1/34.Legal languageLaw -- LanguageLaw -- South Africa -- LanguagePostprint Article