The Role of Implicature in Legal Discourse: Ambiguity and Manipulation

Abstract

This study examines the role of implicature in Nigerian legal texts, focusing on contracts, wills and testaments, and courtroom interactions. Using a qualitative discourse analysis approach, the study explores how strategic ambiguity and manipulative language influence legal interpretation and power dynamics. Drawing on Grice’s Cooperative Principles, the analysis highlights frequent violations of the maxims of Quantity, Manner, and Relation to create legal uncertainty, maintain power imbalances, and shape judicial outcomes. Findings reveal that vague contractual terms, ambiguous testamentary clauses, and suggestive courtroom language often disadvantage weaker parties by allowing dominant entities such as corporations, legal professionals, and the judiciary to exercise interpretative control. The study recommends enhancing precision in legal drafting, enforcing stricter judicial interpretation, promoting public legal awareness, encouraging plain-language reforms, and strengthening ethical guidelines for legal practitioners. These measures would help mitigate exploitative ambiguity while maintaining the necessary flexibility of legal language. Ultimately, the study underscores that language in law is not neutral but a tool for both justice and manipulation, necessitating increased transparency and fairness in legal discourse.