Dear Editor,
After 50 years some of the 12,000 former students of the CLE who were legally trained in the Caribbean feel that the system of training should be changed in keeping with the rapid development taking place in the region. I must state that that some of the Caribbean trained lawyers have excelled becoming members of the judiciary, ministries of justice, law schools, and some corporations – a few are even heads of State and heads of government.
President of the CCJ, the apex court in the region, Adrian Saunders, a St. Vincentian said “the CLE was established with lofty goals in mind…not only to produce lawyers and strive to stimulate concern for public service, public policy and law reform.” He added that after five decades it is now a good time to assess whether these goals are still relevant, and if so whether the prevailing curricula and culture at the three law schools are conducive to their attainment or new goals should be elaborated and published.” Guyana’s Attorney-General Anil Nandlall in his comments to me said it is now a “compelling case for a review of the system which administers legal education… this must necessarily entail a review of the role of the Council itself as an administrator of law schools in the region and one is compelled to interrogate whether this model is still feasible or should the Council assume the role of a regulator of autonomous law schools established by governments or private concern or a combination of the two.
The UK has similar model to which we can resort for guidance – brilliant Jamai-can jurist, Dennis Morrison, President of the Turks and Caicos as well as Cayman Islands Appellate Court and former President of the Jamaica Court of Appeal said that data is needed to make a proper assessment and said that CARICOM was mandated 20 years ago to commission a needs based survey, but this was never done—- preferring instead to make decisions on sentiment…he added that “no one wants to be fettered on facts.” Dr. Kenny Anthony, former Prime Minister of St. Lucia who studied law in the West Indies and London, and was a law lecturer/professor at UWI is more dogmatic, he said that “in my view the most drastic changes will have to occur in the teaching of law both at UWI and the Law Schools….the case is compelling for the OECS states to establish its own law school to handle their jurisdiction.”
He added that technology has overwhelmed us, and the life of a sole practitioner is coming to an end whether we like it or not. He added to his comment by saying “I believe the timing is perfect to establish a far reaching Commission to review legal education in the region. We now have to climb to the next plateau of legal education and quickly,” the former Prime Minister and law lecturer concluded.
Sincerely,
Oscar Ramjeet
