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Legal Education Colloquium sparks book project at UFS

01 March 2024 | Story VALENTINO NDABA | Photo SUPPLIED

Prof Geo Quinot and with Ntando Ncamane — Prof Geo Quinot from Stellenbosch University, pictured with Ntando Ncamane, a Lecturer in the UFS Department of Mercantile Law.

The Department of Mercantile Law at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently spearheaded a Legal Education Colloquium, marking the genesis of a groundbreaking book project with the vision of revitalising legal education across South Africa. Attended by luminaries from academia, legal practitioners, and students, the event featured Professor Geo Quinot from Stellenbosch University, a distinguished figure renowned for his profound insights into legal education, as the keynote speaker.

Ntando Ncamane, a Lecturer in Mercantile Law, provided a comprehensive overview of the colloquium’s objectives, outcomes, and future trajectory. "The dynamic evolution of legal frameworks, notably the promulgation of the Constitution, statutes, and landmark cases, has necessitated a reformation in South African legal education," Ncamane remarked. He underscored the pivotal role of digital transformation, particularly in the context of the pandemic, and emphasised the joint commitment of regulatory bodies and academic institutions towards fostering an ethos of engaged scholarship. The colloquium served as a platform to dissect and explore transformative trends, inviting stakeholders to deliberate on novel perspectives and navigate emerging challenges in legal education.

Insights from Prof Geo Quinot and eminent experts

Reflecting on the invaluable insights garnered from deliberations, Ncamane highlighted Professor Quinot's keynote address, which advocated for a reimagining of collaborative endeavours, particularly involving students. Discussions spanned an array of topics including innovative methodologies, enhancing assessment frameworks, leveraging digital platforms for education, integrating competition law into curricula, promoting engaged scholarship, nurturing emotional intelligence among students, and addressing complexities within modules such as civil procedure. Stimulating dialogues on decoloniality, decolonisation, and ubuntu ethos also permeated the discourse.

The forthcoming book, a culmination of the colloquium, will traverse themes encompassing Digital Education, Student Engagement, and Decolonisation. Ncamane elucidated, "Contributors will be aligned with one of the themes based on the relevance of their contributions…A call for papers was issued, eliciting abstract submissions from prospective contributors."

Scholars hailing from diverse academic institutions including the UFS, University of the Witwatersrand, University of Limpopo, University of Fort Hare, North-West University, Varsity College, and Stellenbosch University, have been enlisted for participation. Each chapter will undergo a peer review process, ensuring scholarly rigour and academic excellence.

Role and impact of the book

Articulating the envisioned role of the book, Ncamane underscored its potential to reshape legal education and curriculum development. He said, "The book offers key approaches that can be adopted by legal scholars to improve teaching methods, ultimately benefiting students, academics, and society at large."

With regards to timelines, Ncamane indicated that the publication is slated for release in late 2024 or early 2025, contingent upon the duration of the blind review process and editorial refinement. The Legal Education Colloquium and its ensuing book project exemplify a concerted endeavour to address the evolving imperatives of legal education, foster scholarly discourse, and contribute meaningfully to the enhancement of legal praxis in South Africa.

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Minister Jeff Radebe commends UFS for measures taken to address racial prejudices

2013-10-21

18 October 2013

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Minister Jeff Radebe lecture: YouTube video

Mr Jeff Radebe, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, last night delivered a lecture in the Prestige series of the Dean: Faculty of Law, at the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS).

In a packed hall with, among others, university students, staff and members of the judicial system, Minister Radebe said that many other academic institutions should look to the UFS when they deal with the challenges of racism in its various manifestations in their midst. “I commend the university for taking drastic measures to address the challenges of racial prejudices in its own backyard,” he said.

“Government can and must provide leadership, but it is the collective efforts of all our people that will ensure that we bridge the racial and historical divides that stand in contrast to our noble virtues as entailed in the Constitution,” the Minister said.

On the topic “Access to Justice” the Minister said that the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has channelled more than 80% of its nearly R16 billion budget to the Access to Justice programme.

Minister Radebe talked about the reintroduction of the Sexual Offences Courts, which attests to the unrelenting resolve to eliminate the scourge of gender-based violence. “Fifty-seven of the department’s Regional Courts are being upgraded to operate as dedicated Sexual Offences courts during the 2013/2014 financial year. We believe that these sexual offences courts will help address the growing challenge of sexual offences in the country, particularly against vulnerable groups.”

The Minister also pleaded with law teachers to avail themselves to preside in the courts in our country to complement the decreasing number of presiding officers that are drawn from the attorneys’ and advocates’ profession. These services are normally rendered by the Commissioners pro bono as part of an endeavour to bring justice to all the people, including the poor.

A challenge that the UFS could help resolve,is the transformation of the legal profession. “We need to increase the number of Law students and in turn increase the number of attorneys and advocates in the pool from which we derive candidate judges,” Mr Radebe said.

The Legal Practice Bill and the transformation of the State Legal Service are the most important initiatives underway by which the Institutions of Higher Learning will make a contribution. “The Bill seeks to establish a single regulatory structure, which will be responsible for setting the norms and standards for all legal practitioners. Members of the public, as primary beneficiaries of the legal profession, will also be represented in this structure. Other important objectives of the Bill are the removal of barriers of entry to the profession for young law graduates who aspire to pursue a legal career, and the introduction of measures aimed at ensuring that fees chargeable for legal services are reasonable and within reach of ordinary citizens,” he said.

The Minister concluded: “Our courts must reflect both the race and gender demographics of our country and so must the university communities in their various capacities as a microcosm of the society we seek to build.”

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