Law students commend 2023 law week activities

The Guyana Bar Association’s second annual Law Week activities came to a close on Friday, with a law symposium, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.  

The symposium featured presentations from Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, President of the Guyana Bar Association Pauline Chase, and Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Judge Winston Anderson among other officials.  

The Department of Public Information (DPI) spoke with a few students at the symposium, who dubbed the week’s activities ‘inspiring’.

Christine Richardson, a second-year University of Guyana law student, expressed that the introduction of law week to Guyana’s legal landscape was a great initiative, as it allows persons to become familiar with the law.

 She said, “They allowed not only persons in the legal profession but the society at large to be able to participate in real-time and experience the activities and keep them updated on current affairs countrywide.”

Commenting on the Attorney General’s address at the symposium, which centred around the government’s continued efforts to modernise Guyana’s legal framework, the law student said this is an important action, as some of the country’s laws prove archaic in an evolving society.

Richardson added, “We are progressing and, because of this, we need to employ the new frontiers that are currently with us, such as technology. Given today’s activities, and of course the activities throughout the week, we would have seen that we have a lot of new mechanisms that are coming to light, and we are pushing, and this is something that, as students, we need to internalise so we can contribute to this advancement.”

Another law student, Reanna McCurchin shared similar views, dubbing the law week activities ‘splendid’.

McCurchin said, “This type of event is very important because it helps to bridge the gap between theory and practice.”

Dishon Harris, another University of Guyana law student, indicated that the law week activities went well, and he stated, “What I find especially pleasing was that the theme promises to propel the development of the laws of Guyana. It is expected that we develop the law as the society changes, and that is the message that was put forward by the keynote speaker and the Attorney General. We welcome those messages, because as an aspiring attorney, it shows that there is scope for development, and what I see today is not reflective of what I will see tomorrow, and that says a lot for me.”

Meanwhile, Students of Bishop’s High School who attended the symposium also give their input on the law week activities.

Akiela David, who serves as President of the Bishops’ High School Law Society, indicated that the week’s activities offered a welcome preview to Guyana’s legal arena.

She said, “It is important for us as students to understand what we are getting into and what our near future may look like.”

Victoryne Mohabir said, “As an aspiring lawyer it pays to see the adults in the profession actively loving and celebrating the profession. When we sit in these events, we think, wow, this is for sure what I want to do, and we think that we can actually make it there someday. It is very inspiring.”

This year’s Law Week was hosted under the theme: ‘New Frontiers in Law, Preparing for the Future.’

Law week commenced on Sunday with a walk-a-thon, from the Square of the Revolution and ended at the Court of Appeal. The walk-a-thon was followed by pro bono services that were offered on Monday.