International Journal of Public Legal Education
(Author: Richard Grimes, Editorial Board member, International Journal of Public Legal Education) Access to justice is not just about being able to find and afford a lawyer. Being aware of rights (and responsibilities) is an important component of the A2J debate. Legal literacy is vitally important both in terms of recognising problems and knowing what to do and where to go.
There have been many initiatives worldwide aimed at improving legal awareness but to date few outlets for informed discussion. In September 2017, a new peer-reviewed journal was launched - The International Journal is Public Legal Education - it’s purpose being to promote, support and evaluate PLE developments.
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The journal is provided on an open access basis (without charge). For further information contact the managing editor at Sarah.morse@northumbria.ac.uk or Richard.grimes@hotmail.co.uk.
About the Journal:
The IJPLE publishes a range of papers including reviewed articles, practice reports, examples of good practice from the field, editorials and reviews.
The journal aims to promote and support the development of PLE and to critically examine and share best practice. For these purposes PLE is interpreted broadly encompassing a wide range of activities aimed at educating members of the public in relation to legal rights and responsibilities affecting everyday lives, including Street Law and other legal literacy programmes. ‘Public’ is defined here to encompass those studying law in a formal setting including undergraduate and postgraduate students and individuals and groups who wish to know more about the law more generally, be it with or without academic credit. The latter may consist of one-off or short courses or public information campaigns aimed at raising awareness of legal issues.
The IJPLE is primarily concerned with-
- the role of PLE as an instrument for community empowerment, access to justice and societal change;
- the pedagogy of PLE including design, delivery and assessment;
- PLE in a comparative context across the civil and common law worlds; and
- empirical and theoretical research providing an evidence base for the educational and impact claims of PLE in relation to the various stakeholders involved including students, the educational institution and community partners.
Submissions are welcomed from all legal and educational jurisdictions and from allied fields and the journal particularly encourages contributions from early career academics and practitioners interested in PLE.
