Justice

A Core Responsibility of Citizenship

With the privileges of citizenship comes responsibilities. One important duty of every citizen is to know the law. While this is true in any society, in the IOP each and every citizen must know the canon of law well enough to defend themselves in a court of law. The following core tenants define this rationale:

• Having to defend oneself in a court of law ensures that one will be much more mindful of the personal costs associated with breaking laws.
• When citizens are required to be responsible enough for themselves to come to their own defense, that instills a deeper appreciation for the freedoms that they enjoy.
• With the requirement that citizens defend themselves, the legal community (lawyers) are relegated to the noble responsibility of assisting the citizenry in their solemn responsibility to speak for themselves; it is not the lawyers responsibility to speak on their behalf; their responsibility is to guide and advise.
• When individual are required to retain the responsibility to speak for themselves, lawyers are prevented from usurping the power of the citizenry. When common perception is such that lawyers are necessary to defend individuals, that laws are too complex for the common citizenry, this leads to an inevitable mass surrendering of society's privileges, rights and freedoms to an elite class of legal experts who can then profit from their weakness.