45
Drafters should ensure that the words or terms they employ cover the entire
domain they intend to cover.
Use consistent language
Drafters should rigidly use the same word for the same thing.
A drafter should never use a different word to mean the same thing nor the same
word to mean a different thing.
Ensure consistency between/ among related provisions throughout the draft.
Note the use of “bond” and “debentures” in Arts. 498 ff. and 432 of the
Commercial Code to refer to the same thing.
Avoid redundant words
Drafters should not use the combination of words that merely mean the same
thing. A typical example is the term „null and void.‟
Adopt words used in companion statues
When a drafter drafts a law whose subject matter closely touches that of another
law or laws, he should think several times before using
in the new law different
words than earlier law used for the same concept. That ensures consistency and
doesn‟t present needless confusion.
Look at the Amharic equivalent of the term trader in the Commercial Code (Art. 5),
and Commercial Registration and Business Licensing Proc no 687997 (Art.2 (2)).
(See also Trade Practice Proc. No. 329/2003 (Art. 2(10)))
Avoid ambiguous modifiers
Drafters should have no doubt about exactly what a modifier modifies. Beware of
modifiers preceding or following a series. It is advisable
to place an adverb or
adjective as close as possible to the verb or the noun to which it applies and if
necessary repeating it.
www.abyssinialaw.com
46
A very good example is the possible confusion
arising from the use of the
clause
“used for a minimum of two years” in Art. 7(1)(a) of the Amharic and
English versions Turn Over Tax Proc. No. 308/2002.
Dostları ilə paylaş: 
