Keeping track of your democratic rights

By Alistair Jones

SMU Office of Research Governance & Administration – It can be difficult to predict the impact of a scholarly article, but 'Unpacking constitutional literacy', a new paper co-authored by Maartje De Visser, a Professor of Law at Singapore Management University (SMU), is off to a promising start with its publication by Cambridge University Press. The UK-based imprint, founded in 1584, is renowned for its academic pedigree and counts more than 190 Nobel laureates among its authors.

But this is not the first time Professor De Visser has made a mark with her work on constitutional literacy.

"An earlier article of mine, that looked at how highest courts can promote constitutional literacy, has been referenced by judges of the Italian Constitutional Court in their efforts to better connect with members of the public about constitutional topics," she says. "In addition, the notion is beginning to have traction within the scholarly discourse on comparative constitutional law."

So, what is constitutional literacy?

"The understanding of constitutional rules, principles and values, including how they (should) operate in practice to enable individuals to actively participate in public life," Professor De Visser says.

And why is it important?

"When constitutions confer rights on individuals or impose duties, these can only be fully effective if individuals are aware of their existence and substance," Professor De Visser says.  

"And having constitutional literacy helps to support the functioning and success of constitutional democracy, as individuals know (or should know) what democracy entails, why it matters, and have the ability to identify behaviour that would be at odds with constitutional democracy and call out such behaviour."

Creative pitching

Some say that constitutional literacy is at crisis levels. This would be difficult to quantify, but it does appear the notion has been unable to capture a broad public engagement.

"My sense is that in several countries there exists partial constitutional literacy, where individuals know a bit about what this text says," notes Professor De Visser.

"Think of the protests in India surrounding the adoption of the Citizen Amendment Act 2019, when parts of the preamble of the Indian Constitution were chanted during protests. For it to be an integral part of the public’s imagination, there is a serious need for outreach and educational efforts, either in schools, but also through other and perhaps less conventional means such as the arts."

Professor De Visser suggests a way to foster interest could be to tailor information about the constitution to the issue at hand.

"For instance, explain the role and responsibilities of Singapore’s president in the run-up to presidential elections (as indeed happened in the media), and by encouraging institutions and officials to role-model good constitutional behaviour and showcasing this," she says.

"The point we seek to make is that we should be creative in pitching constitutional content to the public and do (much) more than simply hand out copies of the text of the constitution."

With diverse audiences, different predispositions and varying levels of interest, is it even possible to measure the state of constitutional literacy?

"Exactly. We explain that it is very difficult to arrive at a single measure of the level of constitutional literacy in a country, which will vary among audiences as well as over time," Professor De Visser says.

"What we call for in any event is to move beyond administering surveys that ask questions about the content of the text of the constitution. Our article suggests that a broader understanding that also includes civic and political knowledge, aspects of constitutional literacy and lived practices and behaviours matters, too."

Wider knowledge

As the authors point out, the constitutional text is only one part of a multi-faceted puzzle. There are other knowledge elements to fit in.

"Legal knowledge primarily refers to the constitution and related legislation that implements parts of the constitution or give effect to its ideas. Think of the Parliamentary Elections Act 1954 in Singapore, or the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act 1990," Professor De Visser says.

"Political knowledge relates to an understanding of how the different state institutions actually operate in daily life and current affairs, which may, for instance, encompass knowing the name of the prime minister or other members of government, or an understanding of (some of the) political parties that exist.

"Civic knowledge is more practical and applied, and focuses on the skills that individuals should have to use political and legal knowledge. For example, engage with an MP during a Meet the People session, join an event in Hong Lim Park, or participate in a public consultation organised by REACH."

Formative events

Professor De Visser stresses the importance of being familiar with constitutional history.

"History matters because it can help explain why certain choices were made in drafting the constitutional text or why particular practices are in use. The idea is not to expect individuals to become historians and familiar with the intricacies of the drafting of the constitution, but to know about certain formative events," she says.

"[Such as] how the experience of the racial riots in Singapore helped promote an emphasis on the value of multiculturalism and racial/religious harmony, or how the spectre of a freak election result and a rogue government helped induce the transformation of the office of the president from an appointed to an elected one."    

The doctrine, 'ignorance of the law is no excuse' is widely accepted. It seems surprising that its currency has not prompted more interest in the constitutional framework that sustains the laws.

"I agree. This is why it is interesting to note that certain countries (such as Bhutan and Peru) explicitly require, in their constitution, that individuals respect or obey this text," Professor De Visser says.

There can be downsides to constitutional literacy.

"One possible downside is that it could impair critical engagement with existing constitutional designs and practices. In the US, for instance, the constitution is widely respected if not revered, but this symbolic presence seems to have prevented regular changes that arguably would have been better from a democratic perspective," Professor De Visser says.