147 to be admitted to practise law

Hall of Justice, Port of Spain
Hall of Justice, Port of Spain

A TOTAL of 147 new lawyers will be admitted to practise law on Thursday

The prospective attorneys were allowed to file their petitions to be admitted at today’s ceremony at the Hall of Justice in Port of Spain after the Court of Appeal left in place a temporary suspension of a judge’s declaration that a section of the Legal Profession Act (LPA) is unconstitutional, as it discriminates against non-nationals who want to practise law in TT.

In July, Justice Vasheist Kokaram ruled on an application filed by Grenada-born St Lucian prospective attorney Dianne Jhamilly Hadeed.

She successfully convinced him to grant her the declaration that the section placed an additional burden on a non-national to seek admission to the Hugh Wooding Law School, sit an entrance examination, or wait at least additional years to be called to the bar in England and then seek to get a certificate of fitness before being admitted to the local Bar.

The effect of Kokaram’s ruling was that no one, including TT nationals, could apply under section 15(1) of the LPA to be admitted to practise in TT without a legal education certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School until the law was amended by Parliament or the ruling was successfully appealed.

Section 15(1A) of the LPA allowed TT law students an alternative avenue to enter the profession, without having to obtain a certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School if they trained for six months in service under a practising attorney, once they had the Legal Practice Course and the Bar Professional Training Course from London.

Today’s ceremony will be split into two sessions.

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"147 to be admitted to practise law"

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