Legal literacy has not often been a topic of discussion in the Nepali democracy; nevertheless it is a vital asset with respect to effective implementation of law in the remotest corners of the country.
If every citizen is to be legally literate, and if they could have the fundamental understanding of what the law truly commands, they shall have better access to justice. Therefore, legal literacy is a necessary tool for achieving goals set forth by the constitution.
To become literate is a fundamental asset as it is generally regarded as a competence to read and write. Literacy is reflected to be such a valued tool that UNESCO has considered it to be a fundamental human right. Nevertheless, today the understanding of literacy incorporates wider aspects.
The interconnection between literacy and law is profound in its very nature. It is identified in legal fraternity that ‘ignorance of law is not an excuse’; it may be noted that ignorance of fact can be excusable but one cannot escape liability claiming ignorance of law. Therefore, it becomes a vital necessity that one is aware about the law, legal system, their right and legal obligations.
Legal literacy is generally understood as having the rudimentary knowledge of law and establishing safeguards against exploitation or misuse of legal provisions. It can be described as an ability to understand the rights offered by legal system of the country, which aims to make people aware of laws enacted for welfare of the citizens and prevents exploitation and victimization of people in absence of such awareness.
NMB, NBI join hands for financial literacy program
Nepal, being one of the world’s youngest federal democratic republics, has an embryonic need of educating people about their rights, so that people are in conformity with true dictation of law and by such means constitutional dreams of the country are achieved. In a country like ours where most of the legal principles and statutes are in a written form, literacy becomes a necessity for participation of public in functioning of democracy. Therefore in absence of literacy, citizens may become apprehensive of legal mechanisms which might possibly cause conflict between individuals and law.
In such situations, people will not be able to obtain assistance of law, obstructing their access to justice. Nevertheless, even presence of basic literacy may not be adequate to oblige people from participating in legal structure – given that even people with elementary knowledge may find it difficult to read, understand and comprehend with complex legal terminologies. For instance, even the most literate individuals of metropolitan may not be aware about their primary consumer rights, say, a shopkeeper cannot sell a product in excess of maximum retail price (MRP) or they might lack knowledge regarding the procedure of filing a FIR.
Hence, in a fresh democracy like ours, it becomes fundamental to go beyond provisions in legal books and reduce to bare bones, the complex words of law. Therefore, there is a need to simplify legal provisions for better understanding and application of law of the land.
Illiteracy of civil liberties, constitutional safeguards and human rights often have given rise to exploitation and manipulation of uneducated Nepalis. It may be apparent that major social reforms would be needed to bring about a revolution in the rural side. Nevertheless, infinitesimal yet valuable steps by legal professionals, or non-governmental organizations too will have a superior and substantial impact on elevating the existing state of unawareness and awaken the ignorant class of citizens. Furthermore, non-governmental organizations having extensive reach at the grass-root level than governmental machinery will be critical in booming the status of legally literate population in Nepal.
If the recipient themselves are unaware regarding the relief provided to them by law, not only the legal system, but the nation in itself would have failed in providing needful justice as provided by the constitution.
Nepal is currently studying BSL LLB 5th year at the Indian Law Society Law College in Pune, India.
