MAHARASHTRA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, NAGPUR
B.B.A.LL.B.(Hons.) Five-Year Integrated Degree Course
Year-I, Semester-I: Academic Year : 2022-2023
End-Semester Examination, November-2022
(Students are strictly prohibited from writing their names, UIDs or any other indicator(s) of
identity in the Answer File)
Course Code and Name:
Answer to Question No. (5) Trial judges have strong analytical skills and a variety of other
qualities necessary to perform their fact-finding duties. “However. For instance, trial judges
from the Superior Court of Quebec very recently utilised the witnesses' gaze aversion to either
reject testimony or, when combined with uneasiness and hesitancy, to draw the inference that
a witness had lied: After closely observing the accused during his testimony and observing his
great nervousness, his fleeting glare, and his numerous hesitations in cross-examination, the
undersigned is convinced that [the accused] has simply forged his version of the facts in
accordance with the evidence disclosed and that he lied to the Court in an egregious manner
as a result. Trepidation and hesitation, however, are not reliable indicators of a falsehood.
Anxiety and hesitancy are emotions shared by both liars and truth-tellers. The undersigned is
persuaded that [the accused] has merely forged his version of the facts in conformance with
the evidence disclosed and that, as a result, he lied to the Court in an egregious manner. This
is based on close observation of the accused during his testimony as well as observations of
his great nervousness, his fleeting glare, and his numerous apprehensions in cross
examination.” However, apprehension and reluctance are not conclusive signs of a lie. Both
liars and truth-tellers experience anxiety and hesitation.
Nonverbal communication:
gestures
Research scientists created various coding methods that were reviewed by their peers in order
to characterise and investigate gestures. First of all, an emblem is a gesture whose
connotations are typically understood by individuals from the same culture without the need
for further explanation. For instance, when a prosecutor asks a trial judge during a hearing if
an explanation has to be repeated, the trial judge just nods his head while remaining silent.
Because the "no" head movement is a symbol, the prosecution is aware that the explanation
shouldn't be repeated. Emblems can differ from culture to culture. For instance, nodding your
head horizontally denotes "yes," but nodding it vertically denotes "no" in some cultures.
Second, illustrators are hand movements that can accentuate a phrase or a sentence while
supporting one's discourse, particularly in face-to-face engagements. Thus, during the same
argument, if the prosecutor asserts that the victim needs a miracle to survive and raises his
hands to the sky while pronouncing the word "miracle," the prosecutor is emphasising the
word "miracle" to highlight the seriousness of the victim's situation.
Third, regulators are hand gestures that set the tempo of conversations and usually function as
requests for others to begin, continue, or end speaking. As a result, during the same argument,
if the trial judge requests the prosecutor to pause so that he or she can make a note of a
1
particular detail, looks at the notebook and makes the note, then quickly nods in the
prosecutor's direction, the gaze and the nod are significant. The prosecutor is aware that it is
time to pick up the discussion again.
Finally, adaptors are movements in which a portion of our body makes contact with the body
of another person, a thing, or our own body (auto-adaptors) (alter-adaptors). For instance,
picking one's nose, which, contrary to popular belief, has nothing to do with lying, is an alteradaptor, as is the brief touch of the prosecutor's hand on the shoulder of a distraught victim. In
addition to calming the witness, the rapid contact can also serve to prod him to speak further
and gain the judge's sympathy (i.e., control function).
Facial displays
“Affect displays primarily refer to facial expressions of emotions, even though emblems,
illustrators, regulators, and adaptors are mostly hand gestures. Many study experts feel that
some facial expressions of emotions are universal and are similarly conveyed and understood
throughout cultures, despite the fact that this is still up for fierce debate. The face is the
primary channel for such inference, even though other aspects, such as the context of a facial
display and a person's body position, can have a substantial impact. The Neuro-Cultural
Perspective claims that facial expressions can serve as readouts of underlying emotional
states. In other words, the so-called basic emotions—happiness, sorrow, fear, disgust, anger,
surprise, and contempt—are associated with specific face patterns that have evolved as a
result of natural selection. Because of this, when individuals from different cultures
experience one of these emotions, some aspects of facial expressions of emotion are
universally understood and displayed while other aspects are influenced by display rules,
which are cultural conventions. However, one's facial expressions can indicate social goals in
addition to underlying emotional states, allowing others to adjust their behaviour
accordingly.” “According to the Behavioral Ecology Perspective, distinctive face patterns
convey intentions The Behavioral Ecology Perspective claims that specific facial expressions
indicate intentions toward other people in given situations, which depend "not only on the
structural aspects of the setting but also on the sequence of interactants' displays and their
responses to them." In other words, facial expressions develop as a result of social contact.
They are a type of social tool akin to language, and much like language, the context in which
they are used determines the meaning of the words that are spoken. For instance, the
Behavioral Ecology Perspective believes that the "true" grin can signal readiness to play or
associate, and the "false" smile ready to placate, whereas the Neuro-Cultural Perspective
believes that a "genuine" smile expresses happiness and a "false" smile feigns happy. Another
illustration is the angry face, which communicates aggression from a Behavioral Ecology
perspective and rage from a Neuro-Cultural perspective. Although facial expressions can
convey social intentions and underlying emotional states69, the face is also capable of
carrying out a variety of other communicative tasks that are essential to face-to-face
encounters. In order to plan and direct face-to-face encounters so that conversational partners
accomplish their own objectives, these include adding content, highlighting the importance of
verbal communication, assisting others in understanding others, and giving feedback.
Therefore, being sensitive to facial expressions can be a huge asset when it comes to
comprehending and adjusting to witnesses and their testimony.”
Eye gaze
2
“Eye gazing, one of the nonverbal behaviours that have drawn the most attention throughout
human history is crucial to face-to-face encounters because of its regulating, monitoring, and
expressing capabilities. First, eye contact can control how a conversation flows by signalling
when a communication channel is open or closed and when it's time to take a turn speaking.
When the prosecutor is asked to stop talking so the trial judge can take notes, for instance, the
trial judge can indicate whether the communication channel is open or closed by looking
down at the notebook to show that it is closed and then looking up at the prosecutor to show
that it is open again. Eye gazing, along with other nonverbal signs like inhalation and
sustained eye contact, might also indicate that the trial judge or the prosecutor wants to
contribute something to what the other is saying. This can indicate that they want to take the
speaking role. Second, eye contact can be used as a monitoring tool to look for nonverbal cues
from discussion partners in order to gather information and formulate appropriate responses.
Eye gazing, along with other nonverbal signs like inhalation and sustained eye contact, might
also indicate that the trial judge or the prosecutor wants to contribute something to what the
other is saying. This can indicate that they want to take the speaking role. Second, eye contact
can be used as a monitoring tool to look for nonverbal cues from discussion partners in order
to gather information and formulate appropriate responses. The gaze patterns of such
functions can, of course, be influenced by a wide range of factors, such as the topic of
conversation, the physical and psychological characteristics of conversation partners, the
distance between them, as well as their cultural background.”
Answer to Question No. (6)
PLAGIARISM DETECTION
One application of computational linguistics that has sparked a lot of attention in both
business and academic circles is plagiarism detection. “The field of plagiarism detection has
grown in recent years, spreading its applications to educational institutions where it is often
employed to identify improper texts—in this case, someone else's work that is mistakenly
passed off as one's own. The area has undergone a significant transformation, and the use of
sophisticated software has allowed it to broaden its applications in forensic linguistics. Using
forensic linguistics algorithms integrated into artificial intelligence (AI) software or manually,
forensic linguists can frequently find plagiarism in a dubious text. The majority of the existing
literature emphasises that plagiarism detection is one of the many methods used in authorship
attribution, where a specific piece of writing (which is in question) is compared to other
published writings, frequently large bodies, in an effort to identify those bearing similarities,
with the goal of determining the most likely author of that particular text using the results.
When detecting plagiarism, different approaches are used in the contexts of forensic
linguistics, such as stylometric measurement techniques involving the suspected person's style
of writing and speaking, identifying idiolectal styles, stylistic methods, and vocabulary
analytical techniques. Instead of relying on writing features like cognitive, plagiarism
detection pays close attention to how words are arranged and used in comparison to other
published texts. These researchers go on to say that while detecting plagiarism, forensic
linguists take into account key factors such lexical density, lexical components, lexical
richness, hapax legomena, corpus references, and hapax dis-legomena as a way to determine
3
the frequency (low/high) of terms in a suspicious text. However, the use of plagiarism
detection is crucial in writings, particularly those that have been submitted via online
platforms as computers can quickly identify connections between texts that are available
online.”
LINGUISTIC CRIME
In contrast to other crimes like murder, rape, assault, and theft, linguistic crimes do not
require the perpetrator (criminal) to do physical injury to the victim. Illegal speech acts are at
the core of language-based crimes. In essence, these crimes are speech acts, to put it another
way.
Any speech act consists of three parts: the act of saying it; what is meant or the presenter's
intention; and the affect it has on the listener. The elocutionary act is the act of saying. The
illocutionary act is what is meant or the speaker's intention. The listener may respond to a
threat, promise, or warning in the same way—by being persuaded to take action. But the
threat is distinct from the other actions in that it is coupled with intimidation. It is important
to note that the application of the speech act theory is applicable not just to criminal law but
also to civil law, such as contracts, for example. Some speech acts are distinguished by the
speaker's intention, or the speaker's illocutionary force, while others are distinguished by the
impact the act has on the listener, or the act's perlocutionary effect. All linguistic offences are
motivated by the speaker's intent. To be guilty of solicitation, one must have the intention to
commit a crime. The perlocutionary impact of speech acts is the focus of other offences. For
instance, even if the speaker intends to threaten, a speech act is not a threat if it does not
possess the impact of intimidation.
The category is expressive, which includes verbs like "apologise," "warn," and "excuse" that
convey the speaker's mental state and attitude. Fourthly, declarative verbs, which include
defining concepts, objecting to confessions, and other examples, convey a form of connection
between their propositional meaning and actuality. Fifthly, verbs that convey future-oriented
speech activities like convincing someone to do something, such soliciting, persuading,
instigating, etc. are known as directives.
SOLICITING CRIME
It entails requesting or pressuring another person to commit a crime. The terms "incitement,
abetting, and instigation" can all refer to the same thing. All of the words refer to the process
of persuading someone to commit a crime by either implanting the idea of the crime in that
person's head or supporting that person in making that decision. Various speaking acts,
including luring, persuading, seducing, and occasionally threatening, can be employed in this
crime.
This suggests that language is the fundamental component of solicitation or incitement.
Additionally, the most common forms of solicitation only refer to the illocutionary force of
the act, incite, or solicit, which refers to attempting to influence people. The solicitor must
also be truthful, they add. According to linguists, not all speech acts must be performed with
sincerity. Even if the speaker has no intention of following through on their promise, they can
nonetheless carry it out. But in order to commit a crime by direct or indirect speech, one must
have planned to do so. When the solicited individual consents to commit a crime, conspiracy,
another felony, results.
CONCLUSION
4
A crucial component of communication is language. They are both essential to the
advancement of humanity. The expansion of technology has led to an increase in crime.
Therefore, it is crucial to come up with creative approaches to identify suspects and
criminals. When there is uncertainty over the claimed origin of an asylum application,
forensic linguistics offers a wide range of tools for authorship analysis, speaker's voice
analysis, and plagiarism analysis. In numerous situations, such as the detection of the author
of threatening letters, letters containing explosives and dangerous chemicals, writing relating
to the moment of death, and suicide voice messages, forensic linguists are asked to work with
legal authorities.
Answer to Question No. (2)
By posing this question, we learn that in order to win cases, attorneys must be able to
persuasively present their arguments. If a lawyer is unable to do this, their case is likely to be
unsuccessful. A basic understanding of legal persuasion is required for this.LEGAL
PERSUASION
Legal persuasion is the skill of persuading someone to change their mind regarding a legal
matter by argument and explanation. In an effort to convince a judge or jury to find in favour
of their clients, lawyers frequently employ it. A lawyer must have a good understanding of the
law, be able to explain their positions clearly and concisely, and be persuasive.
Argumentation effectiveness is a crucial talent for attorneys to have. If a lawyer can't get their
audience to support their client's argument, they will surely lose their case. In order to
convince those who might be sceptical of their claims, it is crucial for lawyers to develop their
persuasive skills.
You must persuade someone of the validity of your viewpoint before you can hope to change
their perspective. The foundation of persuasion in the legal system is this. A compelling
argument backed by evidence is necessary if you wish to persuade someone. You must be
able to disprove the arguments made by the other side and prove the validity of your own to
win a debate.
PRINCIPLES FOR THE USE OF LEGAL PERSUASION
1. Principle of authority- According to this theory, individuals who are perceived as
being in a position of authority are more likely to be paid attention to. It is crucial to
utilise legal persuasion while establishing your credibility as an expert on the issue.
2. Principle of social proof- According to this hypothesis, people are more inclined to be
persuaded by someone if they notice that other people are also persuaded by them.
Because of this, it's crucial to give instances where your argument has persuaded
others when utilising legal persuasion.
3. Principle of likability- According to this hypothesis, people are more likely to believe
the arguments of others if they agree with them. A warm and approachable demeanour
must be conveyed while using legal persuasion.
5
TYPES OF LEGAL PERSUASION
i. By force or threat- The most direct kind of persuasion, persuasion by force or fear of
force, typically comprises using intimidation methods, including physical harm or
disparaging language, to compel someone to support your objectives. When there is a
lot on the line and time is of the essence, such as during hostage negotiations or when
trying to get a confession from a suspect, this style of persuasion is frequently used. It
has a good possibility of working and achieving the desired outcome, but it also has a
good risk of failing and making things worse.
ii. By emotional approach- You ought to be able to persuade the opposing side to see
things your way through persuasive persuasion by using logic and reason. In lowstakes circumstances where there is room for discussion and dispute, such as in
commercial negotiations or when attempting to persuade someone to change their
mind about an issue, this type of persuasion is frequently used. To persuade someone
with an argument, nevertheless, can be challenging because it calls for the ability to
anticipate the other person's concerns and make a strong counterargument.
iii. By argument- Emotional appeals depend on invoking either positive or negative
emotions in the target audience in order to influence a choice. This method of
persuasion is commonly used in advertising, politics, and private interactions.
CASE STUDY
I.
II.
III.
a couple who were successful in persuading their next-door neighbour to quit playing
loud music at night by offering them baked goods and chatting with them about it.
When they requested that the music be turned down at night so they could get some
sleep, they did so in a nice and respectful manner, but they were adamant in their
demands. The neighbour agreed to lower the music at night after chatting with them.
a man who asked the police to speak with him for a short time so that he wouldn't be
ticketed for speeding. The man asked the officer about his day, about his family, and
about the status of his shift. The policeman complied. He thanked the officer for his
time and then inquired as to whether there was anything the police could do to assist
him. Before releasing him, the officer gave him a warning.
“a woman who repeatedly called the customer service line, asking to talk to a
supervisor, in an effort to lower the interest rate on her credit card. She inquired if
there was anything they could do to assist after briefly outlining her predicament. She
eventually found someone to work with after repeatedly being passed from person to
person and was successful in obtaining the required lowered interest rate.”
To grasp how the law works and how to affect the results of judicial proceedings, a thorough
comprehension of legal persuasion is required. Lawyers who are familiar with the norms of
persuasion used in the legal profession can make their claims more persuasively and increase
their chances of victory. Law students can benefit from studying legal persuasion by learning
6
how the legal system functions and how to influence court decisions. The study of legal
persuasion is challenging and fascinating. We can better grasp how to persuade others in a
legal situation if we are aware of the fundamentals of legal persuasion. We can become better
advocates for our clients and ourselves by studying legal persuasion.
Answer to Question No. (4) Advocates might be experts in legal field, but if they fail to
develop their writing skills , their legal work will also fall short of delivering desired results.
So let us see, LEGAL WRITING AND IT’S IMPORTANCE.
An overview of legal writing Specialized written communication is necessary in many legal
contexts. In many cases, a lawyer must analyse a situation and try to persuade others on their
client's favour through written communication.Advocates communicate mostly through
written law through their work. Effective communication is one of the most crucial
components, especially for advocates. Even the most brilliant legal mind will struggle in the
legal profession if their writing abilities fall short of their capacity to efficiently read, study,
analyse, and reason about the law and crucial case facts. Analyzing fact patterns and outlining
arguments in legal briefs are both aspects of legal writing. Legal writing entails creating legal
documents like wills and contracts. The attorneys should prepare their legal writing well
because it will be useful to them in court. When presenting before the judge, legal writing
gives the judge a clear and concise picture. Legal writing is important to lawyers' and
advocates' lives because it supports them in all facets of their profession. Writing will aid
lawyers and advocates in conducting effective client interviews and recording all of the
client's statements. For all of these areas, legal writing is essential. I want to talk about the
value of legal writing, especially for attorneys who represent clients in court. Legal writing
conveys well-considered concepts in a clear, succinct, and precise manner. Effective use of
facts, the construction of sound legal arguments, and reliance on precedent and principles are
all hallmarks of legal writing. Legal papers have been maintained at a location where they
should only be retained if they are permanent and must be used.
Respective mentioned key points citing impactful legal writing :i. Legal writing make sure for the reader: Because the readers in the courtroom are so
busy, they won't have much time to reflect or reason, therefore legal writing would be
helpful in providing a clear understanding of the issue.
ii. Stating main point up front: A brief should be kept to the point in order to convey
information quickly. It would be helpful in this legal writing because it would enable
you to swiftly create bullet points and get to the point without taking up the judge's
valuable time. Your primary issues can be stated up front when preparing a legal
document.
iii. The document should be in concise form: Thesis and briefs do not give us the ability
to adequately explain or win the argument. The legal writing stipulates that it must be
in extremely short form to be received quickly. Legal writing aids in the creation of
the precise documentation that attorneys and lawyers demand. Written submissions,
applications, and petitions are examples of legal papers that must be carefully
7
designed in order for those reading them to be able to extract the information they
contain and make a conclusion.
iv.
Edit the word: Legal writing aids in editing our own work so that the court, regular
people, and others may understand it easily. Make a list of your own verbal crutches
and keep an eye out for them. My go-to tips for making it easier to see what's on the
page include reading from a paper copy, using an ugly font, switching locations, and
working while upright (or sitting if you usually stand). All of these assist you in
reading the text on the page as opposed to merely what you believed you typed.
For Example- 1. “SUBHASH VIJAYRAN V/S UNION OF INDIA ”. Advocate Subhash
Vijayan filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in this case. He files a PIL so that the court can
look into the legal system. In formulating laws, he urges India's legislature and executive to
use more informed and understandable English. The Indian Bar Council has introduced plain
English into the legal system, which aids in the accuracy of pleadings. Additionally, he
requested precision from the court, questioning why eight words were necessary when the
statements might have been delivered in two. So, this is the PIL that was submitted.
2. “ SUBRAMANIAN SWAMI V/S UNION OF INDIA” In order to persuade someone to
accept your goals, the most direct kind of persuasion, persuasion by force or fear of force,
frequently entails utilising intimidation tactics, such as physical injury or derogatory rhetoric.
This method of persuasion is usually employed when there is a lot at stake and time is of the
essence, such as during hostage talks or when attempting to obtain a confession from a
suspect. It has a fair chance of succeeding and bringing about the desired result, but it also
runs a good chance of failing and making matters worse.
Answer to Question No. (1)
A trial can be viewed as a formalised collection of narratives, to put it another way. Every
participant is, after all, telling a narrative. They also follow a typically organised arrangement.
Pleadings are a type of stylized storytelling, or at the very least, statements of claim. In the
opening statement, the attorney will likely provide a summary of the case, occasionally a
thorough one using the papers. The witnesses then enter the scene; what are they doing if not
telling tales? The judge, and maybe the jury, will then need to create their own account of
what happened after the closing arguments. Even though we are unable to see inside the jury
box, in a judge-only trial, that account will end up in the written reasons and serve as the final
word. Unless it is appealed, it is final. The case's history might then be rewritten, and a
conflict over yet another set of narratives—those describing what transpired during the trial
itself—would arise. It is hardly unexpected that the court system, which is at the centre of the
legal system, is so heavily reliant on narrative. Stories are convincing after all.
1. simple comprehension: From the standpoint of a criminal defence attorney, it's
possible that the goal is to show that the prosecution's story's seeming coherence is
untrue such that it crumbles under a barrage of logical arguments into reasonable
doubt. But other viewpoints just can't function without narrative as a means of
meaning communication. Prosecutors, plaintiffs, judges, juries, and, in reality, the
majority of defendants, are forced to use storytelling as the means of persuasion and
8
explanation required by their jobs due to the fundamental human motivations I have
already outlined.
2. Context: This is related to the first quality since understanding requires that
information be grasped in its right context. Even so, it goes further. It is about staying
true to reality. Realty, of looking at alleged misleading or deceptive behaviour as a
whole in light of the pertinent external facts and circumstances, and not just isolated
pieces. The presenting of facts outside of the context in which they are situated is the
opposite of illusory coherence. Thus, it is possible to lose the connections between
events that reveal them in their true light.
3. Concreteness: A tale can never be anything more than a replica of real life. However,
it may convey a lot more of that feeling than an intangible syllogistic argument ever
could. Stories reintroduce specifics that can be omitted from more general assertions
that are crafted to follow the logic of the relevant legal concept.
4. ethical dimension: Anyone who has read a story to a youngster or heard a parable
knows that storytelling carries values in addition to information. The legitimacy of the
law depends on how well it reflects the ideals of the society it serves, even when
attorneys do not directly apply the answers to purely ethical concerns. Discarding
story would weaken the law's ethical component. As a result, the system would be in
danger of eroding from the bases of its legitimacy.
5. the common law: The concept of precedent is, or at least should be, about contrasting
the narratives in cases that have already been resolved with the narratives in the
current case to see if there is enough significant similarity to mandate an identical
outcome. Counsel asserts that the two cases are "on all fours" with one another when
she claims that the court case is "on all fours with a previously resolved case." The use
of precedent in judicial decisions is thus described by Dr. Bricker as an "almost
quintessential act of formalised storytelling." He claims that narrative allows for the
"cognitive pull" of precedent.
As a result, the story is ingrained in the law. Dershowitz presents some valid points, but the
solution is not to ignore the narrative altogether but to seriously consider its chronological
component. If the client can accomplish their desired outcome without undermining the
evidence, it may be the role of the attorney to start at the conclusion of the case. However, the
judge is not tasked with that. Judges should begin at the beginning and work their way up
through the case. Any story will choose certain facts and ignore or reject others, but the
choice should be based on the rules of chronology and causation, not on the necessity to
accomplish a specific objective. Additionally, it should be conscious of the need for texture
and context, which includes a reluctance to ignore or edit out unfavourable details in order to
make them suit the overall narrative. The example of Ayodhya Verdict can be taken as an
example. The narrative presented to the judge by the counsel from the winning side helped the
judge to give the judgement. Also, a narrative was set by the nation which also affected the
judgement of the case.
9