… AG sees PPP’s hand in stalling law school set up

A REVIEW Committee of the Council for Legal Education (CLE) has agreed that the Council should defer the establishment of new law schools; a move Guyana’s Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, believes is as a result of the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) move to sabotage Guyana’s efforts to establish its own law school.

In January, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Guyana and the University College of the Caribbean (UCC) and Law College of the Americas (LCA) was signed with the aim of establishing a law school here.
The school would bear the name, JOF Haynes Law School of the Americas (JHLSA) after the late outstanding Guyanese Jurist, JOF Haynes. It would afford the holders of Bachelors of Law Degrees (LLB) to obtain their Legal Education Certificate (LEC) here without having to travel to Trinidad and Tobago or Jamaica.

The Government of Guyana will hold 30 per cent shares, and will contribute only the land where the school is to be built, while its partner will hold 70 per cent shares and will foot all other costs. The school is likely to be located at Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown.
However, in a statement to the media Saturday, the AG said new Chairman of the CLE, Reginald Armour, of Trinidad and Tobago “is relying on a report of a Review Committee which included former Chancellor Carl Singh, to now say that the CLE never gave permission to Guyana to establish its own Law School after decades in the belief of the Guyanese legal fraternity.”

The former Chancellor was the only Head of Judiciary on the Review Committee established in 2009 and was allowed to continue to serve on it by the new Chairman, until his removal was requested as he had retired from that office, at the last CLE Council Meeting held in Trinidad and Tobago from September 7 to 9, 2017.

According to the AG, the Review Committee which was set up for a different purpose, suddenly reopened a decision of a Council Meeting in Antigua in September 2016, chaired by previous Chairman Jacqueline Samuels-Brown S.C., of Jamaica, who concluded after considering several documents, including an unauthorised letter of inquiry by one Trevor Hamilton of Jamaica, that some “determination had been made.”
That is, granting Guyana permission to establish a Law School.

The Review Committee comprised the Principals of the three Law Schools under the CLE; a Senior Counsel from Barbados; former Chancellor Carl Singh, and the new Chairman.
Guyana’s delegation at the September, 2016 meeting of the CLE in Antigua included Madam Yonette Cummings-Edwards, Chancellor (ag); President of the Bar Association, Ms. Gem Sandford-Johnson; Secretary of the said Bar, Ms. Excellence Dazzle and AG Williams S.C.

“This determination by the immediate past Chairman, Jacqueline Samuels-Brown S.C. was carried by the Council Meeting which included the new Chairman who did not demur,” said Williams.
It is as a result of the decision of the Council that Guyana entered into the MoU with the University College of the Caribbean (UCC) and the Law College of the Americas (LCA) on January 11, this year.

The MoU provides for a feasibility study to be undertaken to determine whether the Joint Venture Partners should proceed to execute the establishment of the Joseph Haynes Law School (JHLS) here.
In light of this, Guyana and its partners pursued the feasibility study and made a request to Chairman Amour to provide Guyana formally with the criteria to operate the local law school. This was not done.

“…but he has not done so and has raised some other purported concerns of the Review Committee to wit, “It was agreed that Council should defer establishing new Law Schools.”
Williams noted that the Review Committee’s view does not represent a decision of the Council and said the matter will be placed on the agenda of the next CLE Executive Council Meeting, in 2018.

MASSIVE ATTACK
Meanwhile, it should be noted that on January 16, 2017, former AG and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall “launched a massive attack against the establishment of such a school”.

It was at that press conference that Nandlall disclosed that he had written the CLE to oppose the initiative geared at removing the hardships suffered by Guyanese law students attending the Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) in Trinidad and Tobago.

Nandlall at that press conference said, “The Council of Legal Education is an institution within CARICOM. There are three (3) law schools established under this arrangement: the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago, the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica and the Eugene Dupuch Law School in the Bahamas. By signing this MoU is Guyana not violating its treaty obligations with its Caribbean counterparts?”

A week later, the new CLE Chair indicated to Williams that Nandall had complained to him via email dated January 21, 2017 about the signed MoU to establish the law school here.
“Mr.  Armour assured Mr. Nandlall he would put the matter on the agenda of the CLE’s Executive Council Meeting to be held in Jamaica on January 27, 2017,” AG Williams was informed that he requested that the matter raised by Nandlall be placed on the agenda of the January 27 meeting.

On the said day of the meeting, Nandlall in a statement to the media denied he made a move to block the establishment of the law school, while noting that the CLE learnt of the signing of the MOU for the new law school via the media.
The AG said when he arrived in Jamaica for the Executive Council Meeting of the CLE, “He was accosted by the new Chairman, Armour, who handed him a letter dated 26th January, 2017 captioned “Media Statement on Guyana Law School”.

Armour reportedly told Williams that he had sent copies to all media houses across the Caribbean Region after a meeting with the Review Committee which was one day prior.

The media statement said, “No decision has been made by the Council of Legal Education (Council) on the establishment of a Law School in Guyana under the auspices of Council.” Williams believes that the media statement came “in direct response or support of the PPP/C’s contentions.”

Williams said he questioned the motive of the statement, given that Guyana was not given a hearing either at the Executive Council or the CLE meeting. In response, Armour told him that the former Guyanese Chancellor was a member of the Review Committee.
“Armour never told AG Williams whether Singh participated via teleconference, Skype or in person,” the statement added. Notwithstanding, Williams said he briefed the Attorneys General present at the meeting who supported Guyana’s position and directed the Chairman to recall his media statement forthwith, which he did.

“The CLE determined that Guyana would conduct its feasibility study but incorporate the requirements of the CLE that a law school under its auspices must satisfy, Williams stated Saturday.

Guyanese students reading for the Legal Education Certificate (LEC) at the Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) are required to pay  an increased tuition fee of TT$94,000 or US$15,000 or G$3M.
In addition to tuition, Guyanese students have to pay for rent, meals, books and travelling in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Further, between 2009 and 2015 the Guyanese Law Students’ suffering increased and it was uncertain each year whether the paltry 25 places HWLS was offering would be available to them despite both HWLS and the Norman Manley Law School churning out over 200 Law students every year.”

Williams noted that it was not until the APNU+AFC government entered office in May 2015, that the Collaborative Agreement between the University of Guyana (UG) and the University of the West Indies (UWI/CLE), guaranteeing 25 places to Guyanese Law Students for 3 years, was signed. That agreement was signed in 2016.
Attempts to contact Nandlall Saturday proved futile.