Introduction: the paper discusses the problems and prospects of the study of legal discourse in procedural law. On the one hand, the lack of unity and unambiguity in the definition of legal discourse makes it possible to characterize the situation as amphibolic. On the other hand, there is an awareness that everything new is just well-forgotten old. The development of the problem of language and law began as early as ancient Greek philosophers and lawyers of Ancient Rome, who for the first time drew attention to the fact that the words of the law were not identical with its “power and authority” (vin ac potestatem). Therefore, it would be at least doubtful to talk about the relevance of the problem from a position of novelty today. The art of using the word in professional activity has always been of concern to the legal community. Therefore, the paper attempts to show continuity in the study of the issue and the possibility of enriching developments in this direction, taking into account modern achievements. In this regard, the purpose of the study is to generalize the positions available in various branches of knowledge regarding what is included in the content of legal discourse, as well as to identify the functions and properties of this multidimensional concept. Methods: in the course of the research, the dialectical and general scientific methods of cognition were used – observation, description, and theoretical understanding of the material, systematic interpretation. Among the specific scientific methods of studying the subject of scientific research were the formal legal and generalization methods. Results: it is advisable to abandon the complication of the definition of legal discourse by eliminating the accumulation of various components in its content, devoid of practical content. “Do not multiply entities unnecessarily” – this is how Occam’s principle sounds. The definition of legal discourse through words in law most clearly and fully characterizes the essence of this phenomenon. Conclusions: legal discourse is the art of using the word in the professional activity of a lawyer, human common sense.
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