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1 BROCHURE. ON. SKILLS OF JUDgMENT WRITING. Judicial Training & Research Institute, Uttar Pradesh, Vineet Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow-226010. 1. CONTENTS. 1. Skills of Judgment Writing Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya 2. The Art of Writing Judgment Justice Sunil Ambwani 3. The Australian Law Journal on the Writing of Judgment The Ron Justice Michael Kirby CMG. 4. The Anxiety To Do Right - Remains Text of talk delivered by Justice Yatindra Singh, Judge, Allahabad High Court at National Judicial Academy, Bhopal in the National Judicial Seminar of the judges of the higher judicial service on Judicial Method on 2. Back to Contents SKILLS OF JUDGMENT WRITING. Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya . Four things belong to a Judge;. to hear courteously, to proceed wisely, to consider soberly and to decide impartially.

2 - Socrates A JUDGE'S DUTY IS TO RENDER JUSTICE. RENDERING JUSTICE , IN A LARGER SENSE , MEANS GIVING EVERY PERSON, HIS OR HER DUE . ALL THOSE ENTRUSTED WITH POWER . POWER TO GOVERN , POWER TO LEGISLATE , POWER TO ADJUDICATE AND POWER TO. PUNISH OR REWARD IN A SENSE , RENDER JUSTICE . IN THE CONTEXT OF JUDGES , RENDERING JUSTICE , MEANS SPEEDY , EFFECTIVE AND COMPETENT. ADJUDICATION OF DISPUTES AND COMPLAINTS IN A FAIR AND IMPARTIAL MANNER , IN. ACCORDANCE WITH LAW , TEMPERED BY EQUITY , EQUALITY AND COMPASSION WHEREVER. REQUIRED AND PERMISSIBLE, AFTER DUE HEARING . A JUDGE, BY HIS CONDUCT , BY HIS FAIRNESS IN HEARING AND BY HIS JUST AND. EQUITABLE DECISIONS , SHOULD EARN FOR HIMSELF AND THE JUDICIARY, THE TRUST AND. RESPECT OF THE PUBLIC AND THE MEMBERS OF THE BAR.

3 WHAT IS A JUDGMENT? A Judgment may be defined as a reasoned pronouncement by a judge on a disputed legal question which has been argued before him. It is a literary composition, but a composition subject to certain conventions. It possesses its own characteristics and its own standards of merit. The art of composing judgments is not taught; it is acquired by . Judge, Allahabad High Court, Lucknow-Bench. Based on lecture delivered by His Lordship on 13th May 2015 at Judicial Training and Research Institute, during Induction Training Program for Civil Judges (Junior Division). 3. practice and by study of the models provided in the innumerable volumes of the law reports in which are recorded the achievements of past masters of the art. In Halsbury s Laws of England, (4th Edition, Volume 26 P.)

4 260), it has been said, A judgment or order in its final shape usually contains in addition to formal parts: (i) A preliminary or introductory part, showing the form of the application upon which it was made, the manner in which and the place at which, the writ or other originating process was served, the parties appearing any consent, waivers, undertakings or admissions given or made, so placed as to indicate whether they relate to the whole judgment or order or only part of it, and a reference to the evidence upon which the judgment or order is based and (ii) a substantive or mandatory part, containing the order made by the court.. A judgment pronounced on the bench, regarded as an intellectual product, stands in a class by itself. The judge speaks with authority and what he says should therefore, be spoken with befitting dignity.

5 He should not affect grandiloquence but he should be impressive. The strength of a judgment lies in its reasoning and it should therefore be convincing. Clarity of exposition is always essential. Dignity, convincingness and clarity are exacting requirements but they are subservient to what, after all, is the main object of a judgment, which is not only to do but to seem to do justice. In addition to these cardinal qualities of a good judgment there are the attributes of style, elegance and happy phrasing which are its In framing a judgment attention to its structure is of high importance. The theme should be developed in logical sequence from the opening to the conclusion, so that the mind of the reader can follow the progress of the argument, with ease. The normal course is first to set out the facts which have given rise to the question at issue.

6 The selection and arrangement of the facts is a matter requiring no little skill. Unessential details have to be discarded and prominence should be given to the material circumstances. It is often a good plan to preface the statement of the facts by posing broadly at the outset the nature of the problem to be solved and so to give the reader a clue to what is to follow. The facts having been duly set out, the next step is to formulate and apply the law to them. This generally involves a critical examination of principle and precedents and is the core of the judgment. The conclusion follows. To any of the judges sitting in judgment on others, whether as judge or magistrate, judgment writing often feels like the bane of their existence but it is, of course, the ultimate reason for their existence.

7 In The Eumenides, the Greek playwright Aeschylus wrote in 458 1. The RT. Hon. Lord Macmillan , , The Writing of Judgments . 4. Fair trial, fair judgment . Evidence which issued clear as day . [Q]uench your anger; let not indignation reign Pestilence on our soil, corroding every seed Till the whole land is sterile desert . [C]alm this black and swelling wrath.. It is said that this play is the oldest surviving courtroom drama in world A judgment therefore has a significant social and civic function. But what a Judge is concerned with today is the everyday task of judgment writing: something they do day in, day out. Some judgments almost write themselves. They are purely mechanical and can be dealt with quickly. Others are more complex and require deeper thought. A.

8 Judge constantly strives to write better, clearer judgments. But how to do it? The first matter to consider is the purpose of the judgment. There are four purposes for any judgment that is written: (1) to clarify own thoughts; (2) to explain decision to the parties; (3) to communicate the reasons for the decision to the public; and (4) to provide reasons for an appeal court to consider. A judgment forms the concluding part of the civil suit and it determines the rights and liabilities of the parties. Basically judgment is followed by a decree which is its operating part. Historically, there was distinction between judgment and decree. Common Law adheres to the judgment while the Equity Court of Law deals with the decree. But in the distinction between judgment and decree merged.

9 In also, distinction between judgment and decree has lost its relevance but in India, the distinction between judgment and decree has still maintained its position from the initiation of the old Code of Civil Procedure, 1859. The present Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 also recognizes this distinction. Judgment as defined in Section 2(9) means the statement given by the judge of the grounds for a decree or order. A judgment is an affirmation of a relation between a particular predicate and a particular subject. The pre-requisite for a good Judgment/. Order is a good hearing. The process of reasoning by which the court comes to the ultimate conclusion and decrees the suit should be reflected clearly in the judgment. Judgment is the most important document for the parties as well as the Judge and more important for the Judge are the reasons in support of his/ her judgment.

10 Clear thinking 2. Messick, The Origins and Development of Courts (2002) 85 Judicature at 175. 5. is the key to clear writing. A clearly expressed judgment demonstrates the interest of the subject and the exposition of legal reasoning. Reasons given by a judge in a judgment indicate the working of his/ her mind, approach, his/ her grasp of the question of fact and law involved in the case and the depth of his knowledge of law. In short, a judgment reflects the personality of the judge and, therefore, it is necessary that it should be written with care and after mature reflection. In the words of Chief Justice Sabyasachi Mukharji, The supreme requirement of a good judgment is reason. Judgment is of value on the strength of its reasons. The weight of a judgment, its binding character or its persuasive character depends on the presentation and articulation of reasons.