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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
Presentation
by
Hon. Philip “Brave” Davis, M.P.
Deputy Prime Minister
Minister of Public Works & Urban Development
to
LLB Students of The College of The Bahamas’ Law Department
Wednesday, 20th August 2014, 10:00 a.m.
Harry C. Moore Auditorium
College of The Bahamas Oakes Field Campus
Tucker Road, New Providence
Theme: The Importance of Law in The Bahamas and Its Impact Nationally and Globally
Salutations:
Dr. Earla Carey-Baines, Acting President
Dr. Pandora Johnson, Executive Vice President – Academic Affairs
Dr. Ruth Sumner, Dean, Faculty of Social & Educational Studies
Dr. Peter Maynard, Head of Department, LL.B. Programme
Other members of the College’s Faculty and Staff
Students
Good Morning…
When this invitation was extended to me on behalf of The College of The Bahamas’ Bachelor of Law Degree (LLB) Programme, it was truly a privilege to accept it and to bring brief remarks because I am always happy to interact with potential change-makers. Indeed, you aspire to toward a learned and noble profession; and in doing so at this time, you have become a part of this institution’s critical history. You see, this signature programme heralds the establishment of a Faculty of Law here at the College of The Bahamas.
This event is occasioned by the College’s Council approving an autonomous LLB programme, starting in September. This autonomy will end the existing franchise with the University of the West Indies over a three-to-four year transition period.
I am to assure you of the Government’s support, which will manifest itself by way of amendments to the Agreement forming the Council of Legal Education (CLE) to recognise and facilitate this relatively novel concept. As a consequence, students of UWI and other accredited law faculties in the region (Guyana, Jamaica, and COB) will be granted direct entry into the Eugene Dupuch Law School upon satisfying the requirement.
As I look around the room, I take note that women are indeed making a remarkable impact on our country – serving in capacities that were not foreseen at the birth of our nation. Your service to our country is truly appreciated. Indeed, the great Mahatma Gandhi properly observed that, “To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man’s injustice to woman.”[1] Not to be left out, gentlemen, you too are appreciated.
When I executed articles of clerkship, there were very few women in the profession. Law was essentially a man’s game. It was only on Monday that I made an intervention in the House of Assembly during the Debate on the Constitutional Amendments. These amendments will bring parity between sexes in matters of nationality for children of Bahamians (Amendments 1 and 3); parity between sexes in matters of nationality for spouses of Bahamians (Amendment 2); and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex (Amendment 4).
For the legal professional and for obvious reasons, this is an exciting time to live in The Bahamas. We love the discussions that emanate from interpretation of the law. This is also an exciting time for facebook and other social media and, indeed, for talk radio. It is an amazing thing to see how many participants are practitioners of the law almost overnight. Fortunately, they are not paid for the advice, but the law is certainly taking quite a bit of abuse as a result. HOWEVER, we know that debate is always very good as long as we remain focused.
In fact, the debate (in Parliament and in the public domain) has assisted the Constitutional Commission to evolve its amendment proposals to suit the time and circumstance in which we find ourselves. These amendments will advance The Bahamas, especially in respect of becoming compliant with more of the Articles of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
We continually hear the cliché about our shrinking world. Undoubtedly, technologies have brought everyone on earth closer together such that the world’s activities are communicated on the basis of immediacy. More people are traveling more frequently and further. Shrewd business people are setting up multinational corporations. Phones are more than fixed commodities; and the impact of radio and television cannot be minimised. You can even go to the computer and pull up published court reports and case summaries – a far cry from when I articled among the dusty books and endured tiresome searches for cases of reference and precedent and applicable laws.
Yet, the perceived shrinkage of the world has given rise to a world that has actually expanded in exponential increments to take in larger and mobile human populations; new careers; new production and higher concentrations of wealth; mass production of arms and armaments; increase in production and transhipment of drugs and other contraband; transhipment of humans; prolific production of waste material; land transferal increase; more of the world’s resources are exploited – and all of these have a common thread. They need the law – law at the domestic level, international level, and multinational level.
For those of you who follow current events, you will know that international obligations often challenge countries to conform their domestic law. The Bahamas continues to reel as a result of the passage of the compendium of financial services legislation through Parliament in 2000. This was in response to the blacklisting of The Bahamas by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1999. The banking era brought with it changes to policies, practices, and procedures that were non-existent when I worked at Barkley’s bank.
This challenge to conform to standards prescribed by International Conventions and Treaties has been a developing hot-button issue for a long time. It is a greater challenge because Bahamians are essentially very possessive of our land (and so we should be) and tend to believe that we can exist alone as a people (an impossibility in today’s world). Even among professionals, we interact across continents to conduct business and resolve issues. In the same way, countries do the same thing on a larger scale, and are usually heavily influenced by lobbyists.
So, the law is there and as practitioners of the law, you will be called to a very high standard. You will have an opportunity that was not available to The Bahamas when I started out. Articling, though, had its advantages; the first being that I was taken under Charles Barnwell’s wing from Day One. Working in the Chambers of Wallace Whitfield & Barnwell, I was truly blessed with the privilege of being taken under Mr. Barnwell’s tutelage. He undertook to instruct me in the principles and practice of the profession. Mr. Barnwell was an astute, well-rounded practitioner; and I have an abiding respect for him.
By the time I was called to the Bar in 1975, I had sound research and drafting skills; and I had a wealth of experience attending court. Thereby, I could correlate theory with real life situations and see the reasoning for the Code of Ethics of the legal profession. It also gave rise to a healthy appreciation for hard work, the culture of Chambers, knowledge of partner expectations, and the ability to anticipate and meet client demands. In fact, I secured a wealth of practical and theoretical experience in the areas of extradition, mutual legal assistance, Commercial Litigation, criminal and civil appellate matters. This was the foundational experience which I later took to the various partnerships of my career.
I give you my experience as a younger man preparing for a Call at the Bar, and I give it to you acknowledging that the road to qualification was not easy. I was born in New Providence in an era when there were very few black families of means. I was taken to Cat Island at an early age and nurtured by grandparents during my formative years. Ever since I remember, I had a thirst for education that caused me to attend school in Cat Island even though I was too young for formal enrolment. A few years later, I returned to New Providence to live with my parents and siblings in a two (2) room wooden house on Lexington Avenue that physically moved when our family did.
My parents had modest means only, but they instilled a strong work ethic in me. At the age of seven (7), I began working; and I have not stopped since. I worked as a gas station attendant and learned skilled trade to help to pay for my schooling. That hard work paid off and I graduated from St. John’s College at the age of sixteen (16) with six (6) GCE’s.
Soon after, I worked as a construction worker until I found employment at Barclay’s Bank, where supervisors recognised my academic and analytical ability and encouraged me to read law. With firm resolve and a leap of faith, I seized the opportunity to article with Mr. Barnwell. The rest, as they say, is history. I have practiced principally in the High Court and all appellate courts including the Privy Council.
I have told you this story not to boast, but only to say: stay focused! If I could do it against the odds, you can too! Though it is not for everyone, the law is an amazing profession. For those who belong, the law challenges the intellect, inspires ideas, and gives you a chance to really make change. I admonish you, never settle for the status quo. Avoid corruption! Let me say that again. Avoid corruption! You have only one name. However you choose to let it be known is up to you. But always remember that, in whatever you do, you deal with real people, real lives, and you are in place to help with real needs. This life of law that you have chosen is deeply fulfilling and a life well spent.
Work hard, persevere, keep the faith, and do well!
[1] [To the Women of India (Young India, Oct. 4, 1930)]”
© Copyright 2014 by thebahamasweekly.com
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