III

Judges and Lawyers are Aware of the Impact of Literacy Barriers on the Courts

In 1990, the Canadian Bar Association established the Task Force on Legal Literacy, to understand more about the relationship between law and literacy. As part of its work, the Task Force undertook a survey of lawyers. This survey revealed that while "more than seven lawyers in ten [...] have had experience with a client or witness with limited literacy [...] lawyers are not yet aware of the extent to which people with limited literacy skills have serious problems undertaking the 'search' that is a central part of using legal information and the legal system. Lawyers are not aware of the nature of the difficulties that these problems create for the lawyer-client relationship."⁸

The words of the legal professionals quoted in the next seven pages⁹ highlight the fact that awareness of the relationship between literacy and access to justice has grown since the release of this report in 1992. An increasing number of judges and lawyers are aware of the impact of literacy barriers on the courts and on those who come into contact with the justice system.