Towards a baseline for legal capability
The IARS report 'Measuring Young People’s Legal Capability' highlights the difficulties that many young people face in dealing with law-related problems due to a lack of knowledge of civil law and of the skills needed to deal with law-related issues.
This knowledge and skills deficit raises an immediate question: what combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes do people need? And what can we do to develop the capabilities that people need in order to deal with the everyday problems?
In a previous discussion article 'What do we mean by legal capability?' we identified the combination of elements that go to make up legal capability. But what is the baseline - the foundation level of ability that everyone needs in order to run their lives effectively?
Imagine that Jo, aged 19, has just left school and has had the benefit of some excellent PLE in her citizenship classes. She doesn't have a specific problem, but what capabilities does she need to prepare her for the law-related issues she is likely to face in the course of her life?
Ideally Jo would:
- Know that there is such a thing as the civil law that she can use to deal with conflicts and disputes
- Be able to recognise law related issues and respond appropriately, plan and avoid risks
- Have the basic skills to deal with disputes - to be able to communicate effectively in a conflict situation and be sufficiently organised to keep track of names and phone numbers and deal with correspondence
- Know what services are available - where to get help including both information and advice
- And have sufficient self-confidence and belief in the systems to be able to respond calmly.
The IARS report reveals a profound lack of knowledge about the law. Not just ignorance of specific legal rights but a lack of basic awareness of the existence of civil law as something which can be used to resolve conflicts and disputes.
Professor Hazel Genn’s 2008 Hamlyn lectures highlighted the fundamental importance of civil law as a social good. She argues that '..the machinery of civil justice sustains social stability and economic growth by providing public processes for peacefully resolving civil disputes, for enforcing legal rights and for protecting private and personal rights'. If Jo isn't aware of the civil law and doesn't know that it can be used to resolve disputes she is unlikely to be able to recognise a law-related problem and find out what her rights are.
Contrast the reaction of someone who feels ill with someone who is being discriminated against at work.
The sick person is very likely to recognise that they are ill and so will know what to do and where to find the local chemist, doctor or hospital. The person suffering discrimination may well not recognise it as legal problem, won't know where to find out more and get help, and so is less likely to do anything.
This lack of awareness doesn't just lead to an inability to deal with problems - Jo also needs to be able to avoid risks, to plan ahead and make informed decisions that can help avoid difficulties altogether.
The IARS research also highlights the widespread lack of communication and organisation skills that are needed to deal with law related problems. It's unusual to be taught the skills needed to deal with disputes, even though we would all acknowledge that conflict and disputes are an inescapable part of life. Jo needs the ability to communicate effectively in a contentious situation, to manage that difficult conversation over the till in a shop or with a call centre. And she needs to be sufficiently organised to keep on top of correspondence and record names, dates and phone numbers.
She also needs to know what services are available to help her. LSRC research reveals a serious lack of awareness of advice provision.
'46 per cent of those with a CAB within two miles of their home were unaware of it… At least 43 per cent of respondents were unaware that a solicitor was within two miles of their home. Eighty-three per cent of those with a Law Centre within two miles were unaware of it.' 
Education Implications from the English and Welsh Civil and Social Justice Survey - page 19 (250 KB).
Jo also needs to have faith in the system, believe that the law can be on her side and is something she can use. Without this basic belief in the system she is unlikely to maintain the confidence and resilience that is an essential part of dealing with disputes. Without that confidence there is always the danger that she may resort to anger and aggression and damage her chances of a just settlement.
These capabilities would equip Jo to deal with the law-related hazards of everyday life. They would provide a firm foundation on which to build the ability to deal with specific problems.
None of these abilities are so difficult as to be out of reach of most people, but currently if they are learned at all it is through trial and error rather than as a result of public policy. Agreement on foundation capabilities would assist the teaching of the citizenship curriculum in schools, would contribute to adult education and life-long learning, and inform the content of legal and advice websites.
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Martin Jones
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