Fifty-Eight first year students have been inducted into the Faculty of Law of the University of Cape Coast during the 4th Roll Call Ceremony.
The students have been formally accepted as junior members of the Faculty to pursue a three-year law programme.
The Founding Dean of the Faculty, Prof. P. E. Bondzi-Simpson in his remarks at the ceremony said the nascent faculty has made remarkable landmarks and thus faced a huge challenge in maintaining the successes chalked. He said the faculty was doing its best to make the student holistic in acquisition of knowledge of the law. He therefore, appealed to management of the University to help the faculty in its quest to expand facilities. by heeding to its request for a land to put up a building.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, said amidst the numerous challenges, the faculty has produced high quality law graduates. He was happy that 25 out of the total of 44 students from the Faculty who participated in the nationwide Ghana School of Law entrance examination passed. “So Freshers there should be no doubt in your minds that you have chosen the right University to pursue your law programme,” he advised.
Prof. Ampiah encouraged the students to be focused by developing a positive attitude towards their studies and life in general. “Planning will help you choose the best action considering your resources available”. He entreated them to do a lot of teamwork in order to share ideas and learn from each other in their academic and professional development.
Delivering the keynote address, Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Torkornoo urged the students to make the Law, a life partner. “I suggest that you begin to appreciate that the law has become your Life partner. You probably have found out that apart from taking over your time and mind, the law has started taking over your identity”.
Justice Torkornoo reminded the students that the legal profession required mastery of expression, “No matter who you give your professional services to, this is a profession that demands that you understand issues and articulate the various contexts of any of your discussion or document”.
Her Ladyship Justice Torkornoo told the students that justice was always according to the law and nothing else saying, “Law is not morality, it is not common sense, it is not logic. Law is always and always, a set of rules. Justice is always according to law”. She therefore, advised the students continue to ask themselves the question “What does the law say? They should also think law no matter the question and should also pay attention to rules on procedure and process, intimating that the rules, run the strands of legal philosophy that underpin why any law is structured the way it is”.
Justice Torkornoo urged the new students to search the various areas of the legal profession to see where they could perform better or thrive in.
She said, “Integrity is not only about speaking the truth externally. It is also about living the truth of who you are. If you are not speaking the truth to yourself, you are not likely to speak the truth to anyone”.