The Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) is a

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

History

Named for Trinidad and Tobago jurist and politician

Hugh Wooding Sir Hugh Olliviere Beresford Wooding (14 January 1904 – 26 July 1974) was a lawyer and politician from Trinidad and Tobago. Legal career Hugh Wooding was born in Trinidad and Tobago into a family that hailed from Barbados. In 1914, he was a ...

, HWLS is one of three

s empowered by the (Caribbean) Council of Legal Education to award Legal Education Certificates, along with the

Norman Manley Law School The Norman Manley Law School is a law school in Jamaica. Building and location The Norman Manley Law School is located on the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies, yet it is a distinct and separate institution. Its building, design ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

and the

Eugene Dupuch Law School Located in Nassau, The Bahamas, the Eugene Dupuch Law School is named after the lawyer and politician, the late Hon. Eugene Dupuch CBE, Q.C. It was established in 1998 as the third law school in the English-speaking Caribbean community. The scho ...

the Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the a ...

. It opened its doors to students in September 1973. In its early years, it was marked by a scandal when eight out of its ten tutors and lecturers resigned in protest over a student from the Trindadian Police Service (TTPS) who failed his examinations but was not asked to discontinue his studies. In 1996, the Council of Legal Education made the controversial decision to require LLB graduates from the

University of Guyana The University of Guyana, in Georgetown, Guyana, is Guyana's national higher education institution. It was established in April 1963 with the following Mission: "To discover, generate, disseminate, and apply knowledge of the highest standard for ...

to take an entrance examination for admission to HWLS.

Notable alumni

* Kenneth Benjamin, Chief Justice of Belize since 2011 *

Adriel Brathwaite Adriel Dermont Brathwaite, SC (born 1962) is a Barbadian politician and lawyer, who formally held the positions of Attorney-General, Minister of Home Affairs, and Member of Parliament for Saint Philip South. Career Brathwaite is an attorney-a ...

, Attorney-General of Barbados since 2010 *

Anthony Carmona Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona (born 7 March 1953) is a Trinidadian politician who was the fifth President of Trinidad and Tobago, from 2013 to 2019. Previously he was a High Court Judge at the Supreme Court of Trinidad and Tobago, and he served ...

, 5th President of Trinidad and Tobago, ex judge-elect of the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to pro ...

*Hukumchand (class of 2000), former

National Assembly of Guyana The National Assembly is one of the two components of the Parliament of Guyana. Under Article 51 of the Constitution of Guyana, the Parliament of Guyana consists of the President and the National Assembly. The National Assembly has 65 members ele ...

member * Winston Murray (class of 2000), former Minister of Trade of Guyana *Keith Sobion, graduate and former principal, first local graduate to become

Attorney-General of Trinidad and Tobago According to the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago, the supreme law of the nation, the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago is the primary legal advisor to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. Roles and funct ...

* Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, justice on the

Caribbean Court of Justice The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ; nl, Caribisch Hof van Justitie; french: Cour Caribéenne de Justice) is the judicial institution of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Established in 2005, it is based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. ...

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, former Member of the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda * David Thompson, sixth Prime Minister of Barbados *

Cheryl-Lynn Vidal Cheryl-Lynn Branker-Taitt Vidal is a Trinidadian lawyer, who serves as Belize's Director of Public Prosecutions. Early career Vidal worked as a lawyer in private practice in Jamaica and her native Trinidad before coming to Belize in 2000. There, s ...

, Belize's

Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...

since 2008 *Elson Gaskin, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados since 2016 * Kamla Persad-Bissessar, 7th and first female Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago * Paula-Mae Weekes, 6th and first female

President of Trinidad and Tobago The president of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is the head of state of Trinidad and Tobago and the commander-in-chief of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1976, before ...

Dia Forrester Dia C. Forrester is a retired lawyer who served as Grenada’s Attorney General from 1 January 2021 until 1 July 2022, following the 2022 general election. Early life and education Forrester is the daughter of cultural activist Don Charles and Agn ...

, first Female

Attorney General of Grenada Attorney General of Grenada is the chief law officer in Grenada. List of attorneys general of Grenada * ''Grenada became British colony, 1763'' * Hew Dalrymple * Edward Horne c.1770 * Sir George Staunton, 1st Baronet 1779–1784 * Sir Arthur Lea ...

Sandra Mason Dame Sandra Prunella Mason (born 17 January 1949) is a Barbadian politician, lawyer, and diplomat who is serving as the first president of Barbados since 2021. She was previously the eighth and final governor-general of Barbados from 2018 to ...

, last

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

and first

President of Barbados The president of Barbados is the head of state of Barbados and the commander-in-chief of the Barbados Defence Force. The office was established when the country became a parliamentary republic on 30 November 2021. Before, the head of state wa ...

References

{{authority control Law in the Caribbean Educational institutions established in 1973 Universities in Trinidad and Tobago 1973 establishments in Trinidad and Tobago University of the West Indies

History

Notable alumni

See also

References