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'Plain language' techniques of legislative drafting seek to ensure that legislation is easily understandable to lay people affected by its terms. This article critically examines the effectiveness of plain language techniques in achieving that goal. Four cases involving the interpretation of plain language legislation are considered in detail. These cases illustrate some of the limits of plain language legislation in practice and show that sources of doubt in statutory interpretation have complex origins. Ultimately, it is argued that while the plain language method of drafting is on the whole a welcome improvement on previous drafting conventions, it is not by itself sufficient to eradicate doubt as to legislative meaning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]