India newspapers have recently been reporting that Qanoon Lugat, a law dictionary in Urdu, billed as a first of its kind in the country, has been published.

The dictionary, encompassing 52,000 legal terms, has been translated in Urdu for the first time, according to chief translator and Supreme Court advocate Muhammad Irshad Hanif.

Advocate Hanif has also translated the Indian Penal Code and the Indian Evidence Act in Urdu, besides publishing two books – Taziraat-e-Hind and Qanoon Shahadat-e-Hind.

The Urdu legal dictionary has a foreword written by Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir. The author has said that athough the dictionary is focused on the Indian legal system, it should have wide usage even in the international forum.

Lawyers have stressed the empowering effect of the dictionary, by giving litigants better access to their lawyers, rights and liabilities, as well as the legal proceedings in the courts.