Chief Justice to preside over National Law Teachers Conference 2018 on 26 Jan.

Wednesday, 24 January 2018 00:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The University Grants Commission (UGC) is holding the first ever National Law Teachers Conference on 26 January from 8.15 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. at the auditorium of the University Grants Commission, No. 20, Ward Place, Colombo 7.

The topic and theme of the conference is ‘Evaluating the Relevance of Legal Education in State Universities in Sri Lanka’.

This conference will be attended by all the law teachers at the five state institutions providing law degrees, namely the Colombo Law Faculty, the departments of law of Peradeniya University, Jaffna University, the Open University and Kotelawela Defence University.

The Chief Guest at this ceremony will be Chief Justice Priyasath Dep, who will also deliver the keynote address.

The other main speakers at the conference are University Grants Commission Chairman Prof. Mohan de Silva, Dr. Harsha Cabral President’s Counsel, Human Rights Commission Chairperson Dr. Deepika Udagama, Julius and Creasy Senior Partner Dr. J.M. Swaminathan, Ali Sabry President’s Counsel and Advisor to the President Dr. Wickrema Weerasooria.

Also in attendance as the Guest of Honour will be U.R. de Silva President’s Counsel, President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka Law College Principal Indira Samarasinghe President’s Counsel.

The conference will explore the following areas - Whether in regard to legal education Sri Lanka is travelling in the right direction; Are law graduates from our state law schools of good quality and standing and equipped to face today’s challenges; Can law graduates find gainful employment as practicing lawyers or in other areas of work which is of benefit to our country; Are the subjects taught to law students relevant and of practical value; Are the syllabuses satisfactory or do they need revision and updates; Are there sufficient textbooks and teaching material for law students; What is the medium of instruction – English/Sinhala/Tamil; Are Sri Lankan students with foreign LLB degrees competing with Sri Lankan students with local LLB degrees and do the students with foreign LLB degrees now outnumber the students with local LLB degrees.

All lecturers teaching law graduates at state universities will be attending this one-day conference and this is the first time that such a conference is being held in Sri Lanka.

The conference is sponsored and funded by the Standing Committee on Legal Studies of the University Grants Commission. The Chairman of that Standing Committee is Dr. Wickrema Weerasooria, Attorney-at-Law, who is also a member of the UGC.