News Releases

UWI mourns the passing of Honorary Graduate Sir Fenton Ramsahoye

For Release Upon Receipt - December 28, 2018

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago. December 28, 2018 - The St Augustine Campus of The University of the West Indies (UWI) joins the Caribbean community in mourning the passing of Sir Fenton Harcourt Wilworth Ramsahoye QC, a distinguished son of Guyana. The UWI had recognised his contribution to regional development when it conferred an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) on him at the St. Augustine Campus in 2011.

Sir Fenton, who was called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn at 24, was an eminent Senior Council and a member of the Bar of countries across the Caribbean. He became Attorney-General of Guyana at the age of 32 and served in the Parliament for 12 years during which time he was at the forefront of Guyana’s Independence movement. The holder of a PhD in Comparative Land Law, he published The Development of Land Law in British Guiana, a book that still remains a source of reference.

Professor Rosemarie Belle Antoine, Dean of the Faculty of Law at St. Augustine, notes that Sir Fenton was one of the pioneers of legal development in the Region. “He made his mark throughout the Caribbean in a career that predated The UWI model of regional jurisprudence. His name is synonymous with excellence and his legacy in the courts, scholarly output, legal policy and commentary on the law, will live on.”

In particular, The UWI remembers his leadership of legal education at the St Augustine Campus when the Hugh Wooding Law School was established in 1973. The words that ended his Citation in 2011 are especially true today: “We recognize and celebrate Guyanese scholarship and Caribbean excellence. Receive this virtuous citizen of the Caribbean, a man whose work and wisdom have injected intellectual life and hope into the region”. May he rest in peace.

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About The UWI

Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged, regional University with well over 40,000 students. Today, The UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Open Campus. The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences and Sport. The UWI’s seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation. Website: www.uwi.edu 

 

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

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