General Principles Of Drafting

Whether you're creating a contract, legal notice, agreement, or any other legal document, it is crucial to draft these documents with precision and legal structure. Proper drafting ensures clarity, accuracy, and prevents any confusion, which is essential even in court proceedings. A well-drafted document can prevent misunderstandings and safeguard legal rights.

Drafting is a specialized skill for lawyers and anyone responsible for preparing legal documents, as it involves careful consideration of multiple factors. From the document's outline, style, and language to the facts and specific words used, each aspect plays a vital role. Many people mistake drafting for simple copy-pasting, but in reality, it requires following general principles of drafting—a process that demands practice and expertise.

If you're looking to understand more about drafting and its importance in legal documents, this article covers everything you need to know, including the drafting process, general principles of drafting, and key dos and don'ts. By the end, you'll be equipped with essential knowledge to ensure accuracy and avoid common mistakes in your drafting efforts.

What Is A Draft?

The term "Draft" generally refers to an early version of a text or general drawing that captures the core idea or concept, but the final content has not yet been developed. In the document creation process, a draft is an intermediate step that includes ideas, structure, and main elements of the final documents. Whether it's contracts, agreements, pleadings, legal opinions, or other legal papers, a draft plays a key role. The main purpose of the draft is to allow for careful review adjustments and make adjustments before producing the final version. 

Drafting is a specialized skill, and the person with expertise and knowledge in drafting is known as a Draftsman who prepares or draws up legal documents, including wills, gift deeds, etc. On the other hand, a dragoman is referred to as an interpreter who interprets pleadings or other written documents to bridge the cultural gaps that arise in legal proceedings.

Overall, a draft is an early version of a working document being prepared. A draftsman is responsible for drawing up legal documents, while a dragonman is interpreted in legal settings.

What Is Drafting?

Drafting means creating an early document version that can be a contract, agreement, legal opinion, or pleadings. Drafting requires a specialized skill set, a deeper understanding of the law, and strong practice to clearly express relevant information and details accurately and well-organized. Three key parts of legal drafting are laws, facts, and language in any document. The main goal of drafting is to present the facts and legal principles related to specific situations, which involves organizing information and using precise language to avoid confusion.

What Is The Process Of Drafting?

There are three main steps involved in drafting a legal document. Here are as follows:

First Draft

The initial draft mainly focuses on gathering all the important factors about the topic. It's like putting everything you know on paper to ensure you don't miss any crucial information before starting drafting.

Second Draft

In this stage, you take the first draft and start improving it. You go through the first draft and fix all the issues, which might be structured, have clear wording, remove unnecessary information, and tone the language. All the unnecessary, unclear, and inconsistent points are cleared from the content.

Final Draft

Now, we're at the final stage, where you need to create a draft. At this point, the document must be accurate, coherent, and effectively communicate its intended message. This version should be persuasive and able to convince the parties.

Through the drafting process, the draftsman needs to think carefully about the words you choose, how to present them, and what language helps to make the information clear and to the point. It must be easy to read, conveyancing, and without any confusion.

Terminology Involved In Drafts

• Draftsman: A Draftsman is a person who creates or writes legal documents like mortgage deeds, gift deeds, wills, and other similar legal papers.
• Dragoman: A Dragoman is a professional interpreter or translator who translates legal documents and other writings between individuals speaking different languages.

Laws Related To Drafting In India

These laws help to ensure that these legal papers are fair, transparent, and legally binding. There are several key laws are essential and related to drafting in India:

• The Constitution of India
• The Companies Act of 1956
• The Companies Act of 2013
• The Indian Evidence Act of 1872
• The Indian Contracts Act of 1872
• The Indian Stamps Act of 1889
• The Registration Act of 1908
• The Transfer of Property Act of 1882

Let's explain in detail!

1. Indian Contract Act, 1872

This law is one of the main laws of the rulebook, which is used for creating and enforcing contracts in India. It outlines what makes a valid contract, including offer, acceptance, considerations, capacity of parties, and legality of the contract purpose.

2. Sale of Goods Act, 1930

This law focuses on those contracts which are buying and selling goods. It details buyers' and sellers' rights and responsibilities, including how ownership is transferred, payment terms, delivery, and contract breach consequences.

3. Specific Relief Act, 1963

When someone breaks a contract, this law offers a solution. It allows the injured party to ask for specific performance, seek an injunction, or claim damages.

4. Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996

This law helps to resolve various disputes without going to court through arbitration or conciliation. It sets the rules for appointing arbitrators, conducting proceedings, and enforcing their decisions.

5. Information Technology Act, 2000

This law regulates online contracts and transactions. It gives legal recognition to e-signature and digital documents to ensure their electronic contracts are valid and enforceable.

6. Consumer Protection Act, 2019

This law protects consumers from unfair business practices and faulty goods or services. It ensures that consumers have a way to seek justice if they are treated unfairly.

People Also Read : Consumer Protection Laws in India

What Are The General Principles Of Drafting?

There are four main principles that govern for drafting that you need to know:

1.  Formation of Satisfactory Outline

Creating a clear document outline is one of the general principles of drafting. It should be easy to understand and include all the important details. If any important information is missing, then the draft will be incomplete. If crucial information is missing, the person who requested the draft will not be satisfied. So, make sure to write a clear outline that represents the final draft.

2. Emphasis on the Arrangement of Facts

Facts and details are another crucial part of drafting, where you need to arrange the facts and other details in a logical and step-by-step order, which means organizing the information as per the importance of easy understanding. It should be easily skimmable, like a company report with key points, and it should save time when reading all the details.

3. Style and Language

A draft must be formed from all kinds of errors, including spelling, grammar mistakes, wrong legal terms, or poor punctuation. By removing all these errors and keeping the language simple and precise, reading the document becomes easier without any confusion. Also, the language used in the draft should be simple, clear, and concise while drafting.

4. Physical Characteristics

Another important thing is the proper formatting of the document. The draft must be typed on standard-size paper with proper margins (20 by 30 cm), with margins of 4 cm on the top left and 2.5 to 4 cm on the right and bottom. Each page must be in numbers properly, using Roman numerals (i, ii, iii) for introductory pages and Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3) for the main text. The page must be placed in the upper-right corner, and the text should be double-spaced. Each paragraph should be indented with five spaces, and all pages should be secured and tied together. 

Rules For Drafting

Here are some key rules to follow while drafting:

• Every important fact or detail must be added to the draft. Make sure not to leave anything out.
• Make sure to use legal words in the right places when writing the draft.
• Try not to use negative language in the draft.
• Try to read the draft multiple times to ensure nothing is missed, and it's faultless.
• Break the draft into separate paragraphs based on the importance of the contract or agreement.
• You need to use polite and respectful words throughout the draft.
• Make sure to follow the correct formatting and physical representation of the document..

Choice Of Words In Drafting

Here are some useful tips to consider while choosing the words in drafting:

1. Use Consistent Words

You need to stick to the same words throughout the draft when referring to the idea. Because using different words for the same meaning can confuse the readers.

2. Prefer Active Voice

Whenever possible, you should use active voice while drafting to make sentences clearer and more direct because active voices help to highlight who is doing the action. You should only use passive voice if something is important or you must focus on a specific point.

3. Avoid Starting Paragraphs with ‘That’

It's always better to avoid beginning paragraphs or sentences with 'that' word. You can use different sentences to make the draft more engaging and easily read.

4. Focus on One Point per Paragraph

Each paragraph must address one topic or idea. This will keep the draft organized and help readers understand each point without confusion.

Do's And Don'ts Of Legal Drafting

Do’s

• You need to replace a group of complex words with one simple word.
• You should keep the sentences short and clear.
• Use intervals or pauses wherever needed to improve readability.
• Try to express ideas in as few words as possible.
• Try to choose active voice vs. passive to make sentences stronger.
• Pick words that fit with the meaning you want to express
• Understand why you're writing and what you want to achieve.
• Try to think from the reader's perspective
• You need to plan your draft either in your head or on paper

Don’ts

• Don't use unnecessary long or complicated phrases
• Don't repeat the same word unless necessary.
• Try to avoid words that sound similar and might confuse the reader
• Avoid writing two negative words together, as it can create confusion.
• Double-check for spelling and typing errors.

Conclusion

When drafting a legal document, several factors and principles need to be followed to ensure its effectiveness. From clear outline, well-organized facts, and simple language to error-free content, everything matters while drafting legal content. So, it's important to pay attention to details and ensure that you follow the general principles while drafting. We hope this guide helps you know everything about drafting, its importance, the process of drafting, general principles, and do's and don'ts to consider. Now, it's your turn to understand and follow the principles while drafting a legal document.