How can plain language principles make legislation and legal documents clearer, more accessible, and more effective?

The ISO plain language standard is an international effort to establish shared principles for communicating information clearly and effectively. With three parts of the standard already published, Part 1 is currently available in 14 languages across 21 countries, with further parts and translations under development.

Join Vidhi for a conversation with Christopher Balmford, Plain Language Expert and Inaugural ISO Convenor, on the development of the ISO plain language standard and its implications for legal drafting. The discussion will examine the three published parts of the standard, the growing availability of Part 1 through translation, and the work towards developing a shared international framework for plain language.

The conversation will also look at the future of the standard and what these developments could mean for efforts to improve the clarity and accessibility of laws and legal documents in India.

Date: Monday, 31 August 2026
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM (High tea will be served)
Venue: Milon K. Banerji Library and Research Centre, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Delhi

A virtual meeting link will be provided for those unable to attend the discussion in-person.

About the Speaker

Christopher Balmford is a sea kayaker and a former lawyer. He has held these 3 volunteer roles in the plain language world:

• Inaugural Project Leader of ISO’s plain language standard project.  
• Former board member of the International Plain Language Federation.
• Former president of Clarity International, a professional association that promotes plain legal language.

With Cinzia Theobald, he founded In-Game Learning to create an innovative online workplace training experience called The Plain Game. The Game teaches people to write in plain language. It launched in English in July 2026. It will launch in Spanish in late 2026. 

Christopher is also the founder (1999), and CEO, of the Australian plain-language consultancy Words and Beyond. Clients include more than 35 government bodies, more than 60 public listed companies, 8 major national law firms, many smaller organisations, the International Labour Organization of the United Nations, and the European Central Bank. 

In 2000, Christopher founded the online legal-document provider Cleardocs.com, which Thomson Reuters acquired in 2011.

Plain Language and Indian Law

The use of plain language has particular significance in the legal context, where the accessibility of legislation and legal documents can directly affect people’s ability to understand their rights, obligations, and available remedies.

Vidhi’s SARAL Initiative builds on the organisation’s work on plain language drafting, beginning with the Manual on Plain Language Drafting in 2017 and the SARAL Manual in 2023. The initiative seeks to develop a comprehensive and structured approach to plain language legal drafting and to support efforts to make Indian law easier to understand and use. The SARAL initiative is now housed in Vidhi Bengal, where the team is producing plain language versions of several central and state laws. 

The event will explore how the principles and approaches reflected in the ISO plain language standard can inform this continuing work, and what an emerging international framework for plain language could mean for the future of legal drafting, legislative accessibility, and access to justice in India.

To learn more about Vidhi’s work on plain language, visit Vidhi’s SARAL Initiative.