![]() ![]() FAA Writing Standards, order 1000.36, (page 4) says avoid the word "shall" and use "must" to impose requirements, including contracts.The Federal Plain Language Guidelines (page 25) ( PDF) referred to in the Federal Plain Writing Act of 2010, compel FAA and every federal department to "use ‘must,’ not ‘shall’" to indicate requirements.The Federal Register Document Drafting Handbook (Section 3) states "Use ‘must’ instead of ‘shall’ to impose a legal obligation on your reader.".Those are some of the reasons why these documents compel us to use the word "must" when we mean "mandatory:" Nearly every jurisdiction has held that the word "shall" is confusing because it can also mean "may, will or must." Legal reference books like the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure no longer use the word "shall." Even the Supreme Court ruled that when the word "shall" appears in statutes, it means "may."īryan Garner, the legal writing scholar and editor of Black's Law Dictionary wrote that "In most legal instruments, shall violates the presumption of consistency … which is why shall is among the most heavily litigated words in the English language." Also, "must not" are the only words you can use to say something is prohibited. "Must" is the only word that imposes a legal obligation on your readers to tell them something is mandatory. We call "must" and "must not" words of obligation. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |