Courses offered in the first year of study are:

Advocacy

Advocacy is an established part of the Law School programme and is designed to give students practical training in advocacy skills.

In Year one, students are introduced to the general principles of advocacy in lectures and there are also tutorials involving mooting practical exercises. The course complements the Criminal Practice and Procedure, Civil Practice and Procedure and Evidence courses by role play/simulation of topics dealt with in these courses.

Civil Procedure and Practice I

Practice and procedure in summary courts including family and affiliation matters and proceedings for enforcement of judgments and orders and appeals. Practice and procedure in the Supreme Court of Judicature at first instance and in Special Tribunals. Family Law Practice and Procedure including trial of undefended matters in common law and civil law systems and status of children. Initiation of proceedings, writs, petitions, motions, summonses and other originating process. Pleadings, Interlocutory applications. Summary Judgment.

Criminal Practice and Procedure

Practice and procedure in summary courts created by statute. Preliminary inquiries and similar process. Coroner’s Inquest. Appeals from summary courts. Practice and procedure in higher courts-indictments, information, trial by jury, verdict, sentence, compensation and costs in criminal cases.

Appeals to Courts of Appeal from conviction on indictment or information. Powers of Courts of Appeal, application of the proviso in criminal appeals. Rights, obligations, powers and duties of Police. General principles relating to punishment. Prisons, Borstals, Juvenile detention centres, probations, suspended sentences, fines, bonds.

Appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, as of right, by leave of Courts of Appeal, by special leave of the Judicial Committee. Procedure in appeals to the Privy Council.

Evidence

The general principles of the common law of evidence. Res gestae. The rule against hearsay declarations; confessions, statutory variations of the common law in relation to the admissibility of evidence, competence and compellability, oaths and affirmations, proof of documents, judicial notice, primary and secondary evidence. Unsworn testimony. Convictions as evidence in civil cases. The oath as a vehicle to truth. Forensic Medicine. General Principles of medical jurisprudence and toxicology. Medical evidence in civil and criminal cases.

FORENSIC MEDICINE

Landlord and Tenant

The general principles of the Law of landlord and tenant, share cropping, agricultural contracts, agricultural holdings, security of tenure, statutory regulation and control of leases and tenancies. Chattel houses. Movable and immovable dwellings. Assignments of leasehold interests and tenancies. Damage for wrongful or forcible ejectment.

Law of Remedies

 General and special damages in contract and tort. Pleadings and proof. Calculation and assessment of damages in cases of personal injury and death. Judicial trends in the West Indies. Apportionment of damages. Remoteness.

Legal Drafting and Interpretation

The techniques of drafting legislation and documents with legislative effect. Use of language. Legislative recognition of customs and practices. The drafting of deeds, wills and other documents. The general principles of interpretation of deeds, statutes and other instruments. The interpretation of Constitutional Instruments. The writing of opinions, decisions and judgments.

Courses offered in the second year of study are:

Advocacy II

In Year two Advocacy, students are required to participate in two mock trials – a criminal and a civil trial, one as an advocate and the other as an instructing attorney. Students are videotaped and assessed by the Course Director and the presiding judge and are required to be certified competent.

Year two Advocacy students may also participate in a competition to select a team to represent the Law School in a regional mooting competition, involving all three Council of Legal Education Schools.

Civil Procedure and Practice II

Determination of proceedings without trial. Preparation for trial. Trial, judgment and orders. Enforcement of judgment and orders. Equitable remedies and Prerogative Orders. Restitution. Costs. Review of taxation of costs. Appeals in relation to costs. Appeals from courts of the first instance including interlocutory applications in appeals, security for costs, stay of execution of judgments appealed from, dismissal of appeals for non-compliance with rules, reinstatement. Hearing and Judgment. Costs of appeal. Appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, as of right, by leave of Courts of Appeal and by special leave of the Judicial Committee. Practice and procedure in appeals to the Judicial Committee.

Law of Associations

The law of associations relating to the formation, operation and dissolution of companies and other associations. The practice and procedure in contentious matters in Probate and Administration proceedings.

Conveyancing and Registration of Title

General principles of conveyancing in relation to freehold, leasehold and other interests in the common and civil law systems of the West Indies including indigenous developments in both systems. The acquisition of title and land registration. The Torrens System, the Roman-Dutch system of conveyancing. Title registers.

Practice and procedure in relation to the acquisition of interests in land by judicial process. Vesting of property under statute. Legislation relating to housing, town and country planning and compulsory acquisition of land. Crown and state land tenures and interests. Restrictive covenants and their modification and variation. Prescription, Mortgages, charges, liens and hypothecs.

Ethics, Rights and Obligations of the Legal Profession

The status of members of the legal profession as officers of the Courts, independence of members of the legal profession, duties to the Court, clients, the public and the profession, the ethics of the legal profession; obligations to the public to promote the rule of law and to support the creation and maintenance of an independent judiciary; the role of the legal profession in aiding members of the public to secure adequate representation in legal proceedings, representation in matters in forma pauperis. Solicitors’ practice. Advocacy and Legal Aid.

Law Office Management, Accounting and Technology

General principles of office management. Bookkeeping and accounts. Double entry book-keeping. The interpretation of balance sheets. Accounts generally and the separation of clients’ accounts from personal accounts. The preparation of bills of cost in legal proceedings. Records, filing and safekeeping of clients’ documents. Taxation of professional men. Duty to make tax returns. Professional advice on taxation.

AlTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Probate Practice and Procedure

The general principles of the law regulating testate and intestate succession in the common and civil law systems of the West Indies. Wills, intestacy and the administration and winding-up of the estate of deceased persons. The administration of trusts and settlements. Practice and procedure in non-contentious matters in probate and administration proceedings.