Abstract
Communication gaps between members of the legal profession and people outside the profession still leave a lot to be explained. This study investigates the technicality of written legal documents by studying 10 Nigerian Supreme Court rulings, specifically the outcome of cases of human rights violations by the Nigerian military regime. Nine purposively selected excerpts were analysed using generic structure potential elements. The analysis generated nine elements, five of which are obligatory and the other four optional. The obligatory elements are Review of Lower Court Proceedings, Reproduction of Issues, Reference to Authorities, Application of Authorities, and Final Verdict. The optional elements are Review of Facts, Reproduction of Pleadings, Analysis of Evidence, and Analysis of Argument. This study concludes that generic structure potential is a useful theory for demystifying complex texts.
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