Why Should We All Care About the Law?
Why should all of us care about the law, not just lawyers?
Let me give you a few reasons to think about in this post.
"Ignorantia juris non excusat"
Firstly, and in general, ignorance of the law is not an excuse (the header above is just the Latin form of the phrase). This means that in a legal action against you, you cannot plead that you are not aware of the law and hence be excused from any legal liability. You may have heard the phrase "where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise". Well, throw that away. It's not gonna work for you in Singapore, at least in the area of law.
Law permeates all
Second, the law permeates most areas of our lives. I would compare the law to be similar to that of the Matrix. The law is like lines and lines of invisible rules (but that's no excuse to ignore it) which govern our societal interactions with each other.
Here is a list of everyday situations which may involve the law -
Buying your HDB flat or private property? Property law.
A professional gives you negligent advice? Tort law.
Everyday transactions? Contract law.
Thinking of shoplifting (or any other crime)? Criminal law.
Company's branding and other intangible assets? Intellectual property law.
In fact, simple day-to-day activities can trigger multitudes of different laws.
Take for example Carousell - Just a simple online transaction on Carousell may already involve (i) contract law; (ii) consumer protection law; and (iii) e-commerce law!
Knowledge is Power
If ignorance is not bliss and the laws are here to stay, why not increase your familiarity and knowledge of the law? Instead of allowing people to wield the law against you (whether to scare you, intimidate you, or confuse you), why not have enough familiarity with the law so that you prevent others from taking advantage of you? It has often been said that we fear what we cannot understand. In that way, many of us have an amplified and unjustifiable fear of the law because we do not understand it. However, once you understand it, you realise that it is actually not so intimidating.
Planning for the Future
If you can understand how important the law is now in our current times, imagine how much more important it will be as society develops and gets increasingly complex and sophisticated.
It is my personal opinion that in the future, every child would be expected to have at least a basic understanding of the law in order to be able survive in the working world.
Children of today who are businessmen in the future will need to understand basic contract law to form deals;
Children of today who are employees in the future should understand basic employment law to understand their rights; and
Children of today who are creators, innovators, artists in the future should understand basic intellectual property law to understand how to protect and commercialize their creations.
Aletheia Academy is here to help your child realize their dreams.
Aletheia Academy - Tomorrow's Lawyers, Today.