Two cheers for equality: A critical appraisal of Act 4 of 2000 from a plain language viewpoint

Abstract

Legislative writing is often criticised by the lay person for its use of obscure words and complicated sentence structure. This contribution appraises the comprehensibility of the language of South Africa’s new equality legislation, Act 4 of 2000. In its preamble, Act 4 of 2000 promises to undertake the facilitation of “the transition to a democratic society, marked by human relations that are caring and compassionate”. I consider the question as to whether the promise contained in the preamble to the Act does not effectively nullify itself given that the Act is written in language that is accessible  almost exclusively to legislators and members of the legal profession.