Turkish Delegation Visits School of Law

UKZN’s Professor David McQuoid-Mason (front
second left) and Professor Karthy Govender (back
right) engage with members of the Turkish d
elegation.

The School of Law recently hosted members of a delegation from the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Humanitarian Law in Turkey who were on a week-long tour of South Africa organised by UKZN’s Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS).

The tour, aimed at increasing the level of knowledge of the delegation about setting up a street law programme in Turkey, was the result of a presentation on UKZN’s Street Law programme delivered by CSLS Chairperson Professor David McQuoid-Mason in Turkey last year.

‘Academics from the Anadolu University were impressed by my talk on the Street Law programme and were interested in setting up a similar programme,’ said McQuoid-Mason.

Under the guidance of McQuoid-Mason, the delegation discussed how to write street law material, enjoyed presentations by law students and academics and also attended the Ellie Newman Moot Court Final Competition.

The delegation visited the Constitutional Court, Nelson Mandela’s prison cell, UKZN’s Street Law office based at Howard College, and the School of Law’s Centre for Criminal Justice on the Pietermaritzburg campus.

Delegation spokesman, Ms Gamze Rezan Sarisen, said the tour had provided them with essential knowledge which would be vital in establishing their own street law programme in Turkey.

‘We have seen the importance of developing the practical legal skills of law students and paralegal officers and also had the opportunity to learn about different models of street law and law clinics which gave us a better idea of legal education in South Africa. It is interesting to see how the law school interacts with society and how they work together,’ said Sarisen.