April 2014


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Local, but regional

The Law Faculty at St Augustine was launched on April 15, and although it may be located on one campus, its outlook remains steadfastly regional.

The new Dean, Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine had this to say in terms of her vision.

“I see the Faculty of Law, St Augustine as positioning itself as a prime player in advancing a regional developmental agenda, In many ways this Campus, located in Trinidad and Tobago, is the natural ‘hub’ of the region, having close links with the OECS, with Guyana, and with Barbados. In addition, the country and the campus is better placed to strengthen links with Suriname and Haiti, because of the fact that TnT is the geographical home of the CCJ—which includes Suriname—making a powerful argument for upgrading our syllabus to elevate our understanding of the civil law tradition to which our CARICOM sisters, Suriname, Haiti and to some extent, Saint Lucia belongs.

“The creation of this Faculty in Trinidad and Tobago provides a timely opportunity to enhance our ties with the region, especially our longstanding and deep links with the OECS, never forgetting that this Faculty remains embedded in the vibrant regional institution that is the UWI. As such, we have a duty to include the wider region in our plans, and we have done so.

“Many outstanding OECS citizens have served this country with distinction—in Law—I think of the legal giant, Telford Georges, of Dominica who was on the Court of Appeal, and later, the Privy Council and of course, our own President of the CCJ, the distinguished Sir Dennis Byron, of St Kitts and Nevis. Such distinction is not limited to law—recall that the Mighty Sparrow, a Grenadian—was honoured this year, with the highest honour of our land.

“Thus, the Faculty must use this space to entrench the regionalist agenda and view itself as a truly regional faculty, making concerted efforts to attract students from across the region. It must also, in its research agenda and curriculum development, speak specifically to this need.”

The full text of Professor Belle Antoine’s speech at the launch of the Law Faculty is available here.