Welcome to The University of the West Indies and the Faculty of Law! You have made an excellent choice, and we are pleased to say that you join the Faculty of Law at an exciting stage in its development.
 
The Faculty of Law at Cave Hill is the premier institution of legal learning in the Commonwealth Caribbean. The Faculty of Law, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, boasts a rich history, which begun with its establishment in 1970 to present day, as it has over the years hosted leading academics and scholars from the region and further afield.  The Faculty of Law is currently celebrating its Fiftieth Anniversary, and our theme for the celebration is appropriately: ‘Cave Hill @ 50: Celebrating Excellence in West Indian Legal Education and Research’.
 
We as a Faculty have come a long way from the Report of a committee in 1964, under the Chairmanship of the Rt. Hon. Sir Hugh Wooding, Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago, which made recommendations the Council of the University of the West Indies for the training in the West Indies of legal practitioners, including the establishment of a Faculty of Law of the University of the West Indies.
 
We have taken this role entrusted to us seriously and are here to provide you with quality academic training, which aims to broaden your minds not only with the study of legal subjects, but to do so within the context of Caribbean society and the global community. The LL.B. Programme at Cave Hill will provide with you with the depth of training needed to make you a successful legal professional, while also providing with the breadth in terms of the impressive array of course options we offer for you can choose. During your time with us therefore, you will learn analytical, problem-solving, researching, and logical thinking skills that will equip you for a successful career in diverse niche areas of the legal profession.
 
We pride ourselves as a Faculty of Law that affords its students the opportunity to encounter a rich tradition of teaching and scholarship, focused on the history, heritage, and culture of the region, and emphasizes the role of legal professionals in solving the problems of our Caribbean society. We also recognize that our students enrolled in our LL.B., LL.M., and Ph.D. Programmes hail from all parts of the Caribbean and internationally and our teaching and scholarship caters to these diversified needs. Most of the leading textbooks and monographs on Caribbean law have been written by scholars at the Faculty of Law, Cave Hill Campus. Our academics are well published and contribute both through their scholarship and participation to issues of directly relevance to Caribbean society, and also globally. Therefore, throughout your journey with us, you will be taught by the leading scholars in their fields, whose expertise is not only recognized regionally but internationally.
 
Equally, our academics are as diverse as our student body. Our scholars are recruited mainly from the Caribbean, but also internationally and from both common law and civil traditions. They have diverse backgrounds ranging from private practice, public service, international practice and experience in regional and international organizations, as well as judicial and tribunal experience. This wealth of collective experience enables our scholars to ground their teaching of law in real-world, practical examples, and deeply rooted in the Caribbean jurisprudence and policy.
 
We are therefore confident in our Faculty’s aim of not simply training legal professionals, but also in fulfilling the mandate given to us by the Wooding Commission in molding the minds of the next generation of the Caribbean creative thinkers, who will contribute to solving the problems of not only your clients, but of Caribbean society. You will have the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of many of our alumni, who have become leaders in their fields, leading practitioners, Prime Ministers, Presidents, Attorneys-General, and Judges of courts of every level in the Caribbean and leaders of civil society.
 
While at the Faculty of Law therefore, you can expect to meet fellow students who are among the best and brightest in the Caribbean. Together you will challenge yourselves to be your personal best, learn the inner logic of law and have memorable experiences during your time with us. We not only intend that you become excellent lawyers, but also productive Caribbean citizens. To achieve this, we will work with you to ensure that together, we continue to strive to be the best in the Caribbean.
 
This is our commitment to you.
 
Welcome to the Faculty of Law, Cave Hill Campus!
 
Professor Eddy D. Ventose
Dean
September 2021