A decision has been made to construct Guyana’s very own law school at the Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown campus of the University of Guyana.
This is according to Attorney General Anil Nandlall who noted that the facility will be developed on some five acres of land.
As Guyana moves towards the establishment of a much-needed law school here, a committee had been established by government to conduct the feasibility study which included coming up with an architectural design of the institution.
That committee has been collaborating with the Council of Legal Education (CLE), which administers legal professional education in the Caribbean at law schools throughout the region under the CARICOM Treaty.
Back in September 2022, the CLE approved a proposal from Guyana to set up its own law school. The CLE subsequently outlined the requirements that the country needed fulfil including the conduct of a feasibility study.
At present, the CLE-operated laws schools in the Caribbean are the Hugh Wooding Law School, St Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago; Norman Manley Law School, Kingston, Jamaica; and Eugene Dupuch Law School, Nassau, Bahamas.
For nearly three decades, Guyana has been trying to establish a law school within its jurisdiction as law students are forced to attend the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad. However, only the 25 top law students from Guyana are allowed each year into the programme.
Moreover, the high cost of living in Trinidad has deterred many persons from further pursuing a legal career but in response, the Guyana Government now offers limited fully-funded scholarships to Hugh Wooding Law School.
Under the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Coalition Administration, attempts were made to establish the Joseph Oscar Fitzclarence Haynes Law School. However, the CLE was not approached about the project initially and when permission was eventually sought, it was denied in late 2017.
AG Nandlall had previously declared that any law school that is established in Guyana will be done under the ambit of the CLE. This, he explained, will also allow the country to capitalise on the overcrowding at the other institutions across the region.
