during our time, but it remains a fundamental issue which may pose a challenge to the long-term development of the Faculty.
If we are just satisfied with being“ average” amongst our sister Faculties in the region, perhaps we can just give ourselves a collective“ pat on the back”. However, if the aim is to become the premier Faculty of Law in the region, we must work assiduously and continue on the trajectory we have thus far plotted together. The onus is a collective one; one which both the Faculty and student body must face together. Our time now will indeed be formative to our planned professional life. It is imperative in these“ birthing stages” that we hold fast to the core values which led to the formation of a Faculty of Law dedicated to the teaching of West Indian jurisprudence.
As the faculty takes its first steps to become an institution capable of providing for the legal needs of the country and society at large, we may be guided in this quest by the words of the Council of Legal Education for the West Indies. In 1972, some years after several Caribbean states attained their independence from Great Britain; the newly established Council of Legal Education penned its vision for a new generation of Caribbean lawyers:
“ Hopefully, he will be skilled in the practice of the law; but this he should be able to do with compassion and with an acute awareness of the anatomy of his West Indian condition; and with the vision and hope of the law reformers and most importantly, with a deep sense of service to the law, to his client and to his community.”
So as we take a look back, let us not only reminisce on the tales of the past, but instead, let us go forward ever mindful of our rich history and tradition of excellence. We must always endeavour not just to meet the bar set by those before us, but surpass it as we move forward as a burgeoning Faculty.
The new addition to the St. Augustine Faculty of Law which opened its doors in January 2012 to facilitate the faculty’ s expansion.
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