Search Results for: legal
Usability testing results for legal icons Northwest Justice Project – a case study
Published in The Clarity Journal 82 – 2020. Background Northwest Justice Project (NJP) and the Superior Court of Washington have long relied on plain language and readable design to support people who want access to legal forms and information, but do not have lawyers. In 2018, NJP asked Transcend to create 6 new legal icons […]
Plain language in legal agreements: is it safe?
Published in The Clarity Journal 56 – Nov.2016 Speech by Lord Justice Rix Clarity seminar at Denton Wilde Sapte 10 October 2006 I am very grateful to the organisers of this event for bringing me face to face with the subject matter of this talk. At first I received the invitation with some pleasure: it […]
Improving access to criminal justice, by rewriting the Belgian letter of rights
Published in The Clarity Journal 82 – 2020. Introduction Persons under arrest receive a Letter of Rights, which explains them what are their rights : right to keep silent, right to get a lawyer, right to get medical help, etc. But this document isn’t adapt for them to correctly understand their rights, especially as they […]
Do you understand your rights? Making the Letters of Rights more accessible
Published in the Clarity Journal 81 – 2020 Introduction Lili Krámer, Zsófia Moldova, and Vera Gergely The Letter of Rights is a text that informs suspects of their fundamental rights (such as the right to remain silent or the right to have a lawyer). If you are suspected of something the police will either read […]
Justice: Plain language in family law helps but it’s not enough
Published in The Clarity Journal 81 – 2020. Introduction This article discusses how plain language in Australian family law combined with a clear process makes justice more accessible. Both substantive and procedural law are discussed. Justice requires minimal delays, minimal costs and accessibility. Law is accessible when substantive and procedural laws are understood by lay […]
The value of plain language jury instructions in facilitating access to justice
Published in The Clarity Journal 81 – 2020. The right to a trial by jury is one of the fundamental elements of the American system of justice. Jurors are asked to engage in a complicated and difficult task, listening to different versions of facts provided by the parties at a trial and applying their understanding […]
Does plain language only benefit the higher literate? Avoiding the Matthew-effect in plain language revisions
Published in The Clarity Journal 80 – 2019. Every reader of this journal will be convinced that plain language revisions improve reading success. But in this article, I will argue that this improved success might not help the people you wanted to help in the first place; people who do not read as easily as […]
The contribution of design thinking to improve communications
Published in The Clarity Journal 80 – 2019. Design has been talked about much since the turn of the new millennium. Its concepts, methods, and processes are now found in all spheres of human activity. But what about more precisely in the field of written communication? How can design thinking improve the overall condition of […]
Toward an integrated framework for evaluating plain language
Published in The Clarity Journal 76 – 2018 By Neil James and Susan Kleimann No one could object to the evaluation of texts to assess their quality and effectiveness. Many evaluation methods exist, from readability formulas and expert reviews to usability tests and the analysis of outcomes. Yet in recent years, a divide has developed […]
Notice me – communicating patient privacy rights through effective notices
Published in The Clarity Journal 75 – 2017 Penelope Hughes and Maya Frazier Privacy plays a vital role in society, and the concept of health information privacy has persisted for a particularly long time, with providers’ obligation to protect the privacy of their patients dating back to the Oath of Hippocrates. Even in today’s world, […]