INTRODUCTION TO

DRAFTING, PLEADING AND

CONVEYANCING
Ms. Ayushi Negi ( Assistant Professor)
DRAFTING
 It is the Primary Stage of writing
 It is a synthesis of law and fact in a language
 As a skill in terms of preparing documents it is
demanding and requires the knowledge of Law, the
ability to deal with abstract concepts , investigative
instincts ,prescience and organizational skills
DOCUMENT
It basically denotes a Textual record
Section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872

 It states that a “Document” means any matter

expressed or described upon any substance by
means of letters, figures or marks or by more than
one of those means intended to be used or which
may be used, for the purpose of recording that
matter
ILLUSTRATIONS
 Writing is a document
 Words printed, lithographed or photographed are
document
 A map or Plan is a document
 An inscription on a metal plate or stone is a
document
 A caricature is a document
DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE
 It means and includes
 All documents including “Electronic records”
produced for the inspection of the Court
 Such documents are called “Documentary
Evidence”
 It is an important piece of evidence of which the
court, jury and tribunal take judicial cognizance
Section 3(18) of the General Clauses Act, 1897

 It States that a “DOCUMENT” shall include any

matter written, expressed or described upon any
substance by means of letters, figures or marks or
by more than one of those means, which is
intended to be used or which may be used for the
purpose of recording that matter.
 Word document is used in a wide sense and it
includes instruments, deeds, agreements etc
DRAFTING IS DONE W.R.T. THESE
DOCUMENTS

 1) STATUTORY DRAFTING
 2) PLEADING
 3) CONVEYANCING
STATUTORY DRAFTING
 These documents are composed w.r.t. The
principles of Legal Composition and described as
 “ All writings expressly intended to be, or which
frequently become, the subject of legal
interpretation”
STATUTORY DRAFTING
COVERS:
STATUTES AND ENACTMENTS
QUASI- LEGISLATIVE DOCUMENTS
STATUTUTES AND
ENACTMENTS
 The Legal composition and statutory drafting of
laws, enactments or statutes of the legislative body
or parliament
QUASI- LEGISLATIVE
DOCUMENTS
 The term “ Quasi- Judicial “ implies “ having a
partly legislative character by possession of the
right to make rules and regulations having the force
of law”
 The Memorandum or Articles of Association ofa
company
 By-laws of a Society
PLEADING
 These are the statements in writing filed in the
Court by each party to a case stating what his
contentions will be at the trial, and giving all such
details as his opponent needs to know in order to
prepare his case in answer.
 It is a submission by the parties wherein they
narrate facts and relief for their cause
 These include all documents submitted to a court in
the progress of a suit and also all other minor or
 Incidental documents or writings prepared and
submitted in the course of a suit.
 These also include the opinion of counsel on the
basis of which a suit is brought as well as the
opinion of a Judge delivered at the end of a suit.
CONVEYANCING
 It means an act of conveying or transferring from
one person to another or transfer inter-vivos ( It is a
latin term that refers to a transfer made during
one’s lifetime)
 It depends on practice, customs and usage,
prudence and precedents
 The Most common type of documents that illustrate
conveyance are a deed of sale, mortgage, lease etc
AIM
To make sure that the document serves the
function it is intended for.
A professional lawyers work consists of the
drafting of legal documents
It includes agreements, bonds, conveyances,
leases, mortgages, notices and so on.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF DRAFTING

“A good writing is an outcome of a good legal

draft”

 The purpose the document is to serve

 Whose benefit it is being written for?
 Exactly what you want to say.
 Pitfalls that you want to avoid.
PARAMETERS OF A GOOD LEGAL DRAFT

 It should be consistent with Law

 Structured
 Complete
 Appropriate Language
 Readable
QUALITIES OF GOOD DRAFTING AND
WRITING
The principles of good drafting and good
writing are identical.
PIESSE AND GILCHRIST
 Rules propounded In “ELEMENTS OF
DRAFTING”
 (a) Before commencing the draft the draftsman
should conceive the whole design of it.
 (b) Nothing is to be omitted or admitted at random.
 (c) The order of the draft should be strictly logical.
 (d) The ordinary and accustomed forms of
instruments and technical language should be
employed.
 (e) Legal language should be, to the utmost
possible extent, precise and accurate.
 (f) the draft must be readily intelligible to laymen.
CONCISE
 A good draft should be concise,
 It should avoid the use of inconsistent and
irrelevant material with respect to the subject –
matter.
 It should contain only essential facts
CLARITY
 The writing should be clear and the reader should
be able to understand its contents easily.
 Simple words should be used.
 It should contain various paragraphs for expressing
various ideas or subject-matter.
COMPLETE
 It should be complete with respect to the subject
matter on which it is intended.
 It should contain all essential information and
answer all possible questions
PRECISE
 The Facts should be accurate and there should be
no ambiguity.
 The writing should be free from grammatical,
spelling and punctuation mistakes.
USE OF WORDS
 One should use courteous and polite words.
 Words should convey the meaning of the writer to
the reader.
 Use of long and uncommon words should be
avoided.
LOGICAL ARRANGEMENT
 A Good draft contains logical arrangement and
events should be so arranged in chronological order
that the reader is able to understand the subject-
matter properly without being trapped in any
confusion.
 There should be consistency in writing so as to
create a good impact on its reader.
 Arrangement of paragraphs should be carefully
done to segregate the different items of a document