In Mexico and Latin America, we suffer all kinds of injustices: abuses of power, wrongful dismissals, domestic violence, kidnappings, breach of contract, among many others. For example, there is the case of the Pasta de Conchos miners in Mexico, whose families continue to demand justice almost two decades after the disaster without receiving fair compensation or full reparations; or the case of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo in Argentina, who were even criminalized by the state and who also continue to demand justice. Given this, everyone has the right to legal representation, but in practice, that right is inaccessible. Lawyers’ fees are prohibitive for someone living paycheck to paycheck, and obtaining free and competent legal advice is a daunting task.
These cases are not exceptional; they are part of a system that restricts access to justice, making it more of a distant hope than a real right. The crisis in the justice system has economic and structural roots; however, a less-seen problem is also deeply intertwined: the training of legal professionals. Law schools teach students to interpret norms and memorize laws and treaties, but they often forget the humanistic dimension that the practice of law should encompass—observing, analyzing, interpreting, and judging the act. This essay is an attempt to contribute to the argument that world literature is an indispensable educational tool for law students, as well as for judges responsible for issuing rulings.
The problem of laws, their reforms, and their application, as well as the institutions and the administration of formal justice, are all created by the State and its representatives, whose objectives we cannot conceive of as seeking the general welfare. Therefore, this is not the arena where we should direct our concerns. I am thinking of the vast army of litigating lawyers who, within their field of work, face daily the injustices that, unfortunately, are perpetrated against the most vulnerable sectors of society.
The current scenario in which we find ourselves is not very favorable. At this point, it is common to perceive lawyers as figures who sell themselves to the highest bidder, corrupt, or shady . Juan Jesús Garza Onofre, in his book *Don’t Study Law*, points out that, for many people, lawyers are conservative, despicable, and unhappy. This view is largely fueled by a culture that, as Onofre warns, “has led to the practice of law becoming a rather attractive business and has confined its aspirations for social justice.” (2023, p. 37)
This shows that the problem of the injustice crisis also has a dimension related to the training of lawyers, who are trained to “charge high fees” in the style of Hollywood lawyers. It is here that literature can play an important role in cultivating sensitivity and awakening the empathy that often atrophies in the daily practice of the courts.
Law in literature
The value of literature to humanity is undeniable. Reading literature broadens horizons, cultivates values, and exercises critical thinking. While we cannot say that fostering a reading habit in future legal professionals will transform the entire justice system, we can say that it can contribute to forming more well-rounded, empathetic, and sensitive jurists who are aware of the injustices plaguing Latin American society.
As García points out, “literature helps to train better lawyers, better judges, and, ultimately, better citizens, because it allows us to broaden our knowledge of people’s personal situations, contexts, and history, contributing to the development of empathy and emotionality, improving both judicial and moral reasoning.”
The reflection prompted by Victor Hugo’s masterpiece, Les Misérables, shakes any rigid notion of the law. This work presents the story of Jean Valjean, a man sentenced to 19 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread, a completely disproportionate and unjust punishment. Throughout the novel, another equally important character appears: Javert, the embodiment of absolute legality. Victor Hugo tells us: “Javert enveloped in a kind of blind and profound faith everyone who held positions of power in the State… He covered with contempt, aversion, and disgust anyone who had ever crossed the legal line of wrongdoing. He was absolute and admitted no exceptions.”
Throughout the book, even after Jean Valjean’s release from prison, Javert relentlessly pursues him for another crime. However, at the end of the novel, when he finally catches him and discovers that this convict had acted throughout his life with more humanity than the law itself, Javert’s worldview is shattered. Justice and the law clashed violently; the norm and morality collided with the understanding of the most upright policeman in France at that time.
Therefore, because of the profound lessons that Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables brings, it should be required reading for legal professionals and not just a recreational recommendation.
The most important thing about literature is precisely that it is not just literature, it is reality. As Córdova (2019) points out, “Literature portrays the people, not in a specific event, but throughout their entire history and sometimes even anticipating future events (…) it reflects the life of man and of peoples in all its complexity, with all its sorrows, crimes, and hardships…”
With this in mind, we can expose another part of reality through a fundamental work; The Trial by Franz Kafka.
The Process
Franz Kafka was a German-language writer whose work is considered among the most influential in world literature. It should be noted that this great author studied law and held various jobs related to his profession, so it can be said that what he portrays in The Trial is not mere chance or a product of his imagination, but also a consequence of his reality. Therefore, he was able to capture many of the problems plaguing justice systems around the world.
Although written over a century ago and in another country, Kafka’s perspective has transcended his time. One need only observe the opacity, corruption, despotism, and bureaucracy faced by millions of people in Latin America to understand why it remains relevant. Consider, for example, how the novel portrays institutional neglect symbolized by the disrepair of the files: “’How dirty all this is!’ said K, shaking his head, and the woman had to dust the books with her apron so that K could touch them.” (2024, p. 79) The filth is not merely carelessness; it is the expression of the abandonment of genuine processes in the pursuit of justice.
In addition, the bureaucratic machinery is functional for only a few; otherwise, its resistance to modification is inexplicable. Kafka illustrates this: “We had to try to understand that this great organization was, so to speak, in a precarious balance, and that if anyone dared to alter the arrangement of things around him, he risked losing his footing and falling into the abyss.” (2024, p:167)
To this bleak panorama is added the so-called influence peddling or legal patronage, in which we see that the work of lawyers depends not on their knowledge, but on their personal connections; “therein lies the principal value of the defense.” (p:162) As if that weren’t enough, the legal profession is completely humiliated: “the lawyers’ room… was a testament to the contempt shown by the court.” And you shouldn’t do anything about it because if you did, things would inevitably get worse: “Anything but draw the attention of those above you! You have to put yourself at the bottom, no matter how small you look.” (2024, p:167) Here is a true portrait of the practice of law.
One last criticism I want to highlight concerns the problem of incomprehensible language in legal proceedings. Ordinary people involved in legal cases also face this barrier and fail to understand what is happening. We observe this in the work when Joseph refers to the lawyer’s argument: “First of all, full of Latin, which I don’t understand, and then, whole pages of appeals to the court, flattering references to particular officials… anyway, and this is my point, I didn’t see my case progressing.” (2024, p:239)
The criticisms Franz Kafka subtly introduced throughout his work don’t end there; they continued and continue in many other works that explore various issues surrounding justice. Sophocles’ Antigone , Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment , and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird are all works that address legal themes and could greatly contribute to the training of legal professionals.
Final words
The value of literature in law should be unquestionable. Literary reading not only broadens horizons but also reveals diverse human situations that are difficult to see and understand in all their complexity in the classroom.
Reading literature alone will not reform the justice system—it would be utopian to claim so—but it can transform future legal professionals who join it. A more empathetic, sensitive, critical, and conscious legal profession is essential for better discernment regarding justice.
In a country where you have to overcome countless obstacles before even reaching a court, where institutions systematically fail, and where the power of money corrupts everything, literature rises as an indispensable intellectual and ethical counterweight. Let us become aware of the urgent need to read literature.
READ MORE: https://rebelion.org/literatura-y-derecho-un-antidoto-contra-la-deshumanizacion-juridica/
