In his inaugural speech as Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, Priyasath Dep argued that citizens must be educated on Sri Lanka’s laws and by extension, its judicial procedures. In his estimation, the average person has but a meagre understanding of their rights and the country’s laws and processes. “Creating awareness of the law among citizens is important. Citizens must know of his or her legal rights and the remedies available,” Dep said.
The Daily News spoke with various people in the legal profession and each of them wholeheartedly agreed with Dep’s pronouncement. Conversations with citizens also bore out his claims, as most people admitted to having but a sliver of knowledge on the country’s laws and procedures. Furthermore, several of them confessed their ignorence all of their Fundamental Rights.
Clearly, those consulted knew that it is illegal to rob and murder, but the finer points of the legal codes were often lost on them.
But why, exactly, are people so ignorant of the law?
There are several factors, but one of the foremost is that, for most folks, they do not have to know the law until a situation arises where they come into contact with it.
“There is a big gap between everyday life and Sri Lanka’s legal system,” said Dr. Deepika Udagama, Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka.
Most people never learn about specific rules and regulations, because they do not have any reason to do so. As one lawyer put it: “You do not need to know the law until you need to know the law.”
“I have never dealt with lawyers before, but my family is trying to sell a plot of land and we are unaware of the proper procedure for transferring a property deed,” said A. Sudarshana, a trishaw driver.
“I guess we will learn all about this once we consult a lawyer,” he added.
Others confessed to being ignorant of their rights during a traffic stop, as one young man stated that he thought it compulsory to pay a traffic ticket immediately once the citation is issued. He later admitted, however, that he had never been stopped on the road.
One can easily function in society without understanding the details of laws and legal knowledge becomes very important only at a critical moment when one needs it most. Because of this, it is necessary, according to several experts, to improve the public’s legal understanding so that they can use it when necessary.
Though it is certainly necessary to know the law, it is also important to know the legal procedures themselves. Most people, according to Saliya Peiris, former Deputy President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), lack this knowledge as well.
“People don’t know the nitty-gritty details of the procedures. They might know that you have to consult a lawyer if you have a legal issue, but our processes are mysterious to the average person,” he said.
U.R. de Silva, BASL President and former Legal Aide Commissioner, added that gaps in knowledge often discourage people from utilizing available legal resources.
“Some people think they cannot go to courts. They think that they will not be able to get anything done if they do not have money. Access to justice, they think, is a difficult task,” he said.
Former BASL president Geoffrey Alagaratnam added that most people fear the law and try to avoid it. The law, he said, is not people friendly, which makes people reluctant to engage with it.
But outside of people’s lack of information, several experts pointed to the government’s and the media’s inability to spread information on the law as a crucial factor in citizens’ legal ignorance.
Dep, in the same speech, argued that laws themselves are often inaccessible to the people.
“The other issue is to be aware of various acts, ordinances and amendments. Unfortunately most of the amendments are not available. The Bar Association, the Justice Ministry and the Government should publish these documents and make them available to the people,” he said.
Several lawyers noted that the average person is completely ignorant of new laws that are passed in Parliament. They complained that, though laws are made in parliament, they are not publicized sufficiently. Only if they are particularly controversial do new laws make it into the public consciousness.
Another problem that citizens run into when trying to learn and interpret laws is the very fact that the legal code is laden with jargon and Latin that make it unnecessarily complicated. Every one of the lawyers that the Daily News consulted for this article complained of the law’s needless complexity.
“If you look at the wording of laws, even those concerning a simple thing like a deed or a gift or transfer of funds, there is a tendency to use a lot of legal jargon. To the average person it is a bit mystifying,” said Pieris.
“Even if people are knowledgeable about the law, another issue they face is the daunting complexity of procedures and language. The legal code should be written in simple language and not in complex terms. Goal should be for everyone to easily understand the country’s laws and procedures and we are making this
more complicated than it needs to be,” said Udagama.
The intricacies of the law, as well as the lack of its dissemination, have contributed to shortcomings in Sri Lanka’s rule of law. This is not to say that there is widespread chaos in the country, but rather that people often unknowingly break the law due to ignorance.
How to Improve one's Legal Knowledge?
One staple of legal education is the Legal Aid Commission’s (LAC) clinics targeted at people who might not be very knowledgeable on the law.
These are vital resources, but unfortunately a lack of funding has curtailed their effectiveness.
“At the moment the government cannot give a lot of money to legal aid processes, whether they are for litigation or community education. If the Legal Aid Commission were to get more donations or access to more funds, there is no doubt that it would work to enhance citizens’ understanding of the law,” said de Silva.
Alagaratnam argued it should be the responsibility of the media, the Legal Aide Commission, Divisional Secretariats and GN Divisions to impart knowledge and awareness of the law.
“These groups are best equipped to disseminate information. It would be great if they could publish small booklets with vital information that equips people with basic knowledge of legal procedures,” he said.
He noted that these booklets should provide vital information on procedures such as how to file RTI requests, get a permit for construction and how to apply for a passport or national identity card.
“People need to know who they should contact in order to solve their problems,” Alagaratnam said.
But outside of increased engagement with civic society on the part of the LAC, the experts advocated for schools to include legal education in their curricula. This way, they claimed, everybody would benefit later in life by having some essential legal knowledge.
Law is a natural corollary to civics and some officials argued that these two subjects could be taught together.
“Information on the legal system ought to be given from a very young age at schools and that ought to be combined with civics education,” said Udagama.
Pieris reasoned that law, civics, and the basics of the constitution should be folded into one class so that young people grasp the basic concepts of the law.
De Silva, for his part, noted that children must be taught what constitutes a crime.
“As far as children are concerned, they must know that the law is there to protect them. How are they going to report crimes if they are not taught how? We can teach them in schools and the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Justice should get together with the BASL to prepare the curricula,” he said.
Another option some of the experts pointed to was to increase dissemination of legal information through the Internet.
Though many citizens still do not have access to the web, others could benefit from a system that groups all ordinances, acts, and amendments into one website.
These possible solutions are not yet being put in place, but it is safe to say that those in the legal profession are keenly aware of the public’s dearth of legal knowledge.
“Through increased effort and better planning, I am sure we could educate the public on these matters,” said de Silva.
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