Theoretical Foundation – Trust in the Rule of Law Elizabeth Williams, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Surrey
Goal 16 of the UN Sustainability Goals includes a commitment to the provision of equal access to justice for all recognising that ‘justice requires not just investment in state institutions and respect for human rights, but organisation and engagement by the people themselves’. Hence, this paper describes a new initiative which aims to identify a rigorous conception of trust, based on qualitative analysis, in the Rule of Law that will underpin democratic resilience among displaced young adults and law students. Using an innovative methodology of theatrical techniques, law students, displaced young adults and theatre performers we will explore the complexity of a legal case. Law students, actors and displaced young adults will be immersed in the arguments of the moral dilemmas that underpin the law. The aim is to identify the learning processes and change of conceptions that are needed to enable the development of trust in the Rule of Law among law students and displaced young adults. We describe this form of trust as ‘open ended relationality’. Finally, we will propose an intervention strategy and educational guidelines on curriculum that can be used by schools and charities that work with displaced young adults.
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