Legal Realism
Legal realism and its extension, law in society, postulates a core tenet, that law is the product of human emotions, not objective nor static, and definitely not sacrosanct. Whether by design or inadvertence, the rules of the legal system and indeed the lawyer’s rules of professional conduct feed into this narrative by placing human emotions as an important determiner of the quality of laws and law practice.
For instance, the Rules of Professional Conduct is replete with instances of the lawyer’s duty to maintain public confidence in the administration of justice. Substantively, there are several instances where the ordinary man’s test is the measure of how decisions are to be made. Now that it is fairly settled that the public perception of the law is intricately woven into its fabric and that the sanction of the public is an exemplar of good law or administration of justice, we can now step back for a moment to discuss a thing that I have noticed about the law in practice. Having practiced and observed the practice of law in two jurisdictions, Nigeria and Canada respectively, as well as completed graduate research on the theme of access to justice, two points come to me when considering access to justice.

I will focus on them for two reasons, firstly, aside from headline legal disputes that the whole community learns about, which are few and apart, self-represented litigants are those that tend to come in contact and indeed see the legal system in play, upfront. Secondly, they are people whom you generally would assume are less cynical about the quality of the law to provide relief to the vulnerable, hence their conviction to approach the court in the first place, believing that if they told the Judge what happened, they would get relief. My involvement with law practice has however, thrown up instances where self-represented litigants complain bitterly about how the law is rigged, and how the lawyers manipulate the process, and how the judges are corrupt and how justice is never served to the ordinary man. I have actual empirical evidence of what I just wrote here, I have read emails, I have taken calls and I have seen actual tribunal submissions where these sentiments were expressed.

These mechanisms enhance the objectivity of the law, not reduce it. Litigants should do well to consult lawyers or paralegals or (sparingly advised) take time to study the area of law before self-representing. It will help them to access justice.
Article Written by
Ifeanyi Nwokolo Law Clerk