Legal Awareness: 1 Definition
Legal Awareness: 1 Definition
Legal Awareness: 1 Definition
Legal awareness, also known as legal consciousness, The term “public legal education” (PLE) is related to, and
is the empowerment of individuals regarding issues in- may encompass, several similar terms.[7] The terms “pub-
volving the law.[1] Legal awareness helps to promote con- lic legal information” and “public legal education and in-
sciousness of legal culture, participation in the formation formation” (PLEI) emphasize a difference between edu-
of laws and the rule of law.[2][3] cating and providing information.[8] The term “commu-
Legal consciousness is defined by Ewick and Silbey as nity legal education”[9] is common in Australia[10] and
the process by which people make sense of their experi- the United States,[11] where it often refers to community-
ences by relying on legal categories and concepts. Peo- based public legal education activities led by legal aid
ple do this even when they are not familiar with the de- organizations. The term “law-related education” (LRE)
tails and minutia of law or the legal system. They ex- usually refers to public legal education in primary and
plain that there are cultural schemas provided by law that secondary schools (and sometimes in higher education),
people use to make sense of their experiences. They re- as opposed to PLE for adults and outside of school.[12]
fer to this as legality. The concept of legality includes
“the meanings, sources, authority and cultural practices
that are commonly recognized as legal, regardless of who 1 Definition
employs them or for what ends.”[4] These meanings and
sources and different ways of knowing and understand-
According to the American Bar Association, Commis-
ing enable people to make sense of what happens to them
sion on Public Understanding, legal awareness is, “the
and what that might mean in terms of their rights and op-
ability to make critical judgments about the substance of
tions. This process of understanding legal experiences
the law, the legal process, and available legal resources
occurs within a larger ecosystem in which there are dis-
and to effectively utilize the legal system and articulate
putes over meaning and values. Seron and Munger ex-
strategies to improve it is legal literacy”.[1]
plain that “”in addition, class may affect legal conscious-
ness: Law may mean different things depending on an The Canadian Bar Association (1992, 23) defines legal
individual’s location in the various hierarchies of status, literacy as, “the ability to understand words used in a legal
prestige, and knowledge associated with membership in context, to draw conclusions from them, and then to use
a social class.[5] those conclusions to take action.”[1][13]
Public legal education, sometimes called civics educa- With little change to the Multiple Action Research
tion, comprises a range of activities intended to build Group’s(MARG, an NGO working for the promotion of
public awareness and skills related to law and the jus- legal awareness) definition, legal awareness can be de-
tice system. This term also refers to the fields of prac- fined as, “critical knowledge of legal provisions and pro-
tice and study concerned with those activities, and to a cesses, coupled with the skills to use this knowledge to
social and professional movement that advocates greater respect and realize rights and entitlements”.[1][14]
societal commitment to educating people about the law.
Anna-Marie Marshall explains that “in order to realize
their rights, people need to take the initiative to articulate
them. This initiative, in turn, depends on the availability
2 Thought, philosophy, and differ-
and the relevance of legal schema to people confronting ent approaches to legal literacy
problems.” [6] This is because laws exist as part of a larger
organizational ecosystem in which the interests of the or- The “continuum approach” considers legal literacy as,
ganization as well as those of the actors become inextri- “a capacity spread along a continuum, with lawyers and
cably linked to the ways in which they are enacted. judges at one end and relatively incapable laypersons
Distinct from the education of students in law school at the other”. This approach was adopted by the le-
seeking a degree in law (which is often simply called gal scholar White who considered legal literacy to mean,
"legal education") and the continuing professional edu- “that degree of competence in legal discourse required
cation of lawyers and judges (which is sometimes called for meaningful and active life in our increasingly legalistic
"continuing legal education"), public legal education is and litigious culture".[1]
principally aimed at people who are not lawyers, judges, Author Bilder (1999) defines legal literacy as a, “spec-
or degree-seeking law students. trum of functional skills”, related to the conduct of
1
2 3 NEED AND IMPORTANCE
• raising awareness and building capacity The absence of a legal culture and the resulting illiteracy
• training of trainers are the main reasons for the large number of cases in the
courts. If the accused citizen knows that an act is a crime
• community education and empowerment punishable by law, they may not do it.[35]
• exposing law students to social justice work In the domain of law a vast category of users need to ex-
• strengthening community solidarity and sup- change legal information world-wide and carry out activ-
porting grass-roots advocacy ities in a context where a common understanding of law
beyond language is highly desirable. However, this re-
quirement is hard to meet, due to the variety of languages
3.2 Methods adopted to promote legal and modes in which the legal discourse is expressed as
awareness well as to the diversity of legal orders and the legal con-
cepts on which these systems are founded.[36]
There have been many cases where governments have About lesser significance to legal literacy in US legal
promoted long-term legal literacy missions or awareness education, Leonard J. Long professor of law, Quinnip-
campaigns. An example of this is when institutions ar- iac University School of Law says, “law students, law
range legal literacy events. firms, consumers of legal services, and society as a whole
Legal awareness is also achieved through camps, lectures, would benefit from having a legal profession comprised
and interactive workshops or crash programs on the es- and dominated by people who are literate in American
sential and elementary legal laws. Among the general law, its history, and its jurisprudence. But legal literacy
public, many wish to spend time listening to scholars on is not promoted mainly because it is not viewed as nec-
contemporary issues that have significant bearing on the essary for the practice of law. This is part of the anti-
rights and livelihood of ordinary people.[28] Other meth- intellectual tradition in American law generally, and in
[37][38]
ods are road shows, radio talks, street and theatre plays, American legal education specifically”.
as well as the publication of relevant books, periodicals,
posters, and charts that deal with particular laws, the dis-
tribution of pamphlets, brochures, and stickers, the dis- 5 Institutional and corporate legal
play of paintings,[29] illustrations in comics,[30] and other
ways to ensure publicity for various legal mobilisation
literacy
activities.[28]
Corporate, institutions and NGOs are subject to and are
Strategically located display boards in public places (rail- supposed to follow various sets of laws.[34]
way stations, bus stations, market places, in front of ma-
jor government offices and police stations) are also used
to help government officials, police, and the public to un- 5.1 Corporate legal literacy
derstand the spirit of law.[28]
Legal awareness is an important part of professional work
life.[39] According to John Akula, when law-sensitive is-
4 Obstacles sues arise, corporate executives often find themselves in
what is, for them, unmapped territory, often without req-
[40]
According to Lorenzo Cotula, laws are usually published uisite law training. When corporate executives work
with attorneys they need to develop a common language
in the official gazette, few people outside legal circles
have access to legal information.[31] Illiteracy,[31] eco- to bridge probable communication gaps to achieve legal
[32] [33] astituteness.[41]
nomic barriers, language barriers, social taboos and
a lack of zeal among the legal fraternity may lead to obsta- According to Hanna Hasl-Kelchner, legal literacy can
cles in gaining requisite levels of legal literacy. Accord- help to bridge the gap between law and business by sim-
ing to Hanna Hasl-Kelchner, at times lack of zeal among plifying legal terms into language that makes business
lawyers make them prone to saying no and killing a deal sense and offers a new way to think about the law as a
rather than working through the issues and finding solu- useful business tool.[34] She says, “corporate legal liter-
tions that are both practical and legally sound.[34] acy involves balanced understanding of cross disciplinary
In a note to the UN General Assembly 67th session, the influences bringing in legal risk exposure, avoiding law-
UN Secretary General states, “the deprivations that per- suits and transforming potential business legal issues that
sons living in poverty encounter throughout their lives threaten growth and profitability, into opportunities for
— lack of access to quality education, reduced access building stronger business relationships, delivering sus-
to information, limited political voice and social capital tainable stakeholder value, improving competitive advan-
— translate into lower levels of legal literacy and aware- tage and foremost embedding compliance into the[34] corpo-
ness of their rights, creating social obstacles to seeking rate culture to achieve organizational excellence”.
redress”.[32] According to Hasl-Kelchner, corporate legal literacy
4 9 INTERNET AND LEGAL LITERACY
tackles companies’ legal risk profiles on both the em- and “civic literacy” added to them the concept of “civil
ployee and organizational levels. There is a need to iden- society”, “individual rights and freedoms” and “man’s re-
tify the infrastructure needed to support legal literacy sponsibility to civil society”.[45] In the formal civic ed-
and promote effective communications throughout the ucation system, human rights can be taken up as a part
organization.[34] of civic education, values education and social studies,
though they may have the limitation of presenting only
certain aspects of human rights rather than their inte-
5.2 Institutional legal literacy grated whole, and duties of citizens may be overly empha-
sized to the detriment of certain rights and freedoms.[46]
George Pulikuthiyil, executive director of NGO Jana-
At the elementary school level, usually minimal level legal
neethi in his essay Legal Literacy for Social Empower-
literacy introduction is taught through civics, but which
ment says that, 'Well educated and highly placed profes-
is not necessarily adequate for the rest of life. Applied
sionals too are often not aware of provisions in laws and
legal education is imparted through business and com-
implications of their violations. Many would not know
merce school and some other branches. News media also
the nitty-gritty of several statutory laws and their applica-
plays a part, but is unable to meet all socio-legal literacy
tions. ... However, the fact remains that vast majority of
needs.[47] NGOs and legal aid centres may provide for
the officers and professionals like clinical psychologists,
limited legal literacy related to specific thrust areas.[28]
therapeutic counsellors, welfare officers, social workers,
institutional heads and academia are ignorant of their role
and responsibilities as contemplated in the Act. NGOs
do take pains to organize workshops to sensitize them
with respect to such new generation legislations wherein
7 Legal literacy mission
the pro-active role of various stake holders are great sig-
nificance.' [28] George Pulikuthiyil further believes non- China conducts Nationwide Legal Awareness Raising
governmental organizations, community-based organiza- Campaigns (NLARC) this five-year program has been
tions, faith groups, various service providers, trade unions, conducted since 1986.[48] National Legal Services Au-
youth clubs, police personnel, elected representatives to lo- thority (India) conducted a five-year nationwide “Na-
cal bodies, PG students of social work and service orga- tional Legal Literacy Mission” from 2005 to 2010.[26][49]
nizations also have larger scope of improving the quality
of life provided they are made conversant with respective
legislations.[28]
8 Legal literacy events and celebra-
tions
5.3 Designated legal officers
Apart from external legal advisors, internal legal offi- Between March 20 to April 5 annual legal awareness cel-
cers[42] and in certain countries like Australia and In- ebrations take place in Australia.[50] Australian Employee
dia, The company secretary is responsible for advising on Legal Awareness Day is held annually on February 13.[51]
good governance practices and compliance of corporate In India, National Legal Literacy Day is on November
governance norms as prescribed under various corporate, 9.[52]
securities and other business laws, regulations and guide-
lines made thereunder.[43][44]
10 Important institutions promot- [3] Bharadwaj Study Package For CLAT Page vii “Legal
Awareness is the most important component for the stu-
ing legal awareness and legal lit- dents preparing for LL.B. entrance tests. It is altogether a
eracy new subject for the students preparing for the said exam-
inations. In the absence of any comprehensive book on
this topic in..”
Bar councils, lawyer federations and various NGOs take
the lead in promoting legal awareness and legal literacy. [4] Ewick; Silbey, Patricia; Susan (1998). The Common Place
In India, as per the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, of Law: Stories from Everyday Life. Chicago: University
the National Legal Services Authority (NLSA) has been of Chicago Press. p. 22.
designated to take appropriate measures for spreading le- [5] Seron; Munger, Carroll; Frank; Munger, Frank (1996).
gal literacy and legal awareness amongst the people.[57] “Law and Inequality: Race, Gender... and of Course,
In Indiana, in the United States, Outreach for Legal Lit- Class”. Annual Review of Sociology 22: 187–212.
eracy (OLL) is a community service program in which doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.22.1.187.
law students teach law to fifth-graders in local elementary [6] Marshall, Anna-Marie (2005). “Idle Rights: Employees’
schools.[58] Rights Consciousness and the Construction of Sexual Ha-
rassment Policies.”. Law and Society Review 39 (1): 83–
124. doi:10.1111/j.0023-9216.2005.00078.x.
11 See also [7] Gander, Lois (2003). “The Changing Face of Public Le-
gal Education in Canada” (PDF). Canadian Forum on
• Rule of law Civil Justice Newsletter (6): 4.
• Legal aid [8] McDonald, Susan (1998). Public Legal Education in On-
tario Legal Clinics (PDF). pp. 53–57.
• Legal advice
[9] McDonald, Susan (1998). Public Legal Education in On-
• Legal education tario Legal Clinics (PDF). pp. 50–53.
• Civics [10] “Community Legal Education services”. Legal Aid West-
ern Australia. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
• Ignorantia juris non excusat
[11] “Community Legal Education course”. Center for Legal
• Popular education Aid Education. Archived from the original on 2007-08-
• Free Access to Law Movement 29. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
• Outline of law enforcement [12] Cassidy, Wanda (2000). “Law-Related Education: Pro-
moting Awareness, Participation, and Action”, 297–98, in
• Plain language Weaving Connections: Educating for Peace, Social and En-
vironmental Justice (Tara Goldstein & David Selby, eds.).
ISBN 1-894549-01-5.
12 External links [13] Good Citizens: Literacy Training in Anxious Time. Pitts-
burgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2014. Project
• Public Legal Education Network in the United MUSE. Web. Feb. 2015. <http://muse.jhu.edu/>.
Kingdom [14] Multiple Action Research Group - Justice through re-
search empowerment (Accessed on 2 Apr 2013)
• The Theory & Practice of Public Legal Education
in Canada [15] http://www2.athabascau.ca/syllabi/lgst/docs/LGST249_
sample.pdf (Bilder1999, 51)
• American Bar Association Division for Public Edu-
cation [16] (Manley-Casimir, Michael E., Wanda M. Cassidy, and
Suzanne de Castell 1986, 47)
• Citizenship Foundation – public legal education in
schools [17] Kumar, Anoop, Social science research network Na-
tional Legal Literacy Mission - An Evaluative Analysis
doi:10.2139/ssrn.2240008
13 References [18] Beljaars, Ben. “Implementing Legal Information Liter-
acy: A Challenge for the Curriculum”, International Jour-
[1] What is legal literacy? Examining the concept and objec- nal of Legal Information. Jounal. Feb. 2015.
tives of legal literacy (Accessed on 31 Mar 2013)
[19] Justice P.N. Bhagwati, In 1986, in case of Sukhdas V.
[2] Ashok Swain, Ramses Amer Globalization and Chal- Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh, reported in AIR
lenges to Building Peace (Accessed on 1 April 2013) 1986 S.C. at page 991, Justice P.N. Bhagwat
6 13 REFERENCES
[20] (Canadian Bar Association 1992) [38] Carolan, Mary. “Use of Plain English in Legal System
Advocated”. “The Irish Times” Sept. 6, 2003: Pg. 4.
[21] (The John Howard Society of Canada1996) Print.
[22] (Council of Canadian Administrative Tribunals 2005) [39] http://books.google.co.in/books?id=
[23] (South Carolina v. Katzenbach (No. 22, Orig.)) 1T5BHBHNNN0C&pg=PA167&dq=
%22legal+awareness%22&hl=en&sa=X&
[24] Preber, B. J. Financial Expert Witness Communication: A ei=j2--T8XgEY3JrQeY-qW1DQ&ved=
Practical Guide to Reporting and Testimony, John Wiley 0CFEQ6AEwBTi0AQ
& Sons, Inc. May 2014. Hoboken, NJ, US
[40] The Importance of Legal Literacy for Executives-John
[25] http://www2.athabascau.ca/syllabi/lgst/docs/LGST249_ Akula, Senior lecturer in Law at MIT Sloan School of
sample.pdf Retrieved 31 March 2013 Management Retrieved 31 March 2013 13.00pm IST
[58] http://law.indiana.edu/students/activities/outreach/
index.shtml Retrieved 31 March 2013 14.00pm IST
8 14 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES
14.2 Images
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%28Benin%29_%285579786047%29.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Womens read about their legal rights in a public awareness
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