Stephen Vasciannie -- who has been Norman Manley’s principal -- announced that the school is to expand significantly. In his last act in the top post before becoming the country’s ambassador to Washington, Mr Vasciannie announced plans to increase the law school’s annual intake from 180 to 400 students.
The law school has been part of the University of the West Indies for four years and the proposed expansion involves a programme of building construction at the Kingston campus. Officials anticipate the expansion will be complete within 18 months. Mr Vasciannie told the Jamaica Observer that ‘I very much hope it will go ahead’.

India delay

Elsewhere, a proposed law school in India has suffered further delays, with the University of Pune’s planned National Law School is unsure whether it will be able to open for the 2013-14 academic year.
The school was originally intended to open in 2010, but the building was not ready, and it has not opened since because it is still seeking state government approval.
Although the building is now completed – with an inaugural opening scheduled for next month -- and the state government has approved the law school, the project is still surrounded in uncertainty because of legal technicalities.

Funding debate

Wasudev Gade, vice-Chancellor of the University of Pune, said funding of the Law School was unclear, with the state government insisting that it must be run entirely at the university’s cost.
Additionally, some argue that the school requires parliamentary approval, or to be cleared by the Bar Council of India, which is responsible for regulating the country’s legal profession.