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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

The Gambia Bar Association Event Ends Silence



Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Marie Saine Firdaus has described the recently concluded Bar Week, organised by The Gambia Bar Association (GBA) as a
mark that ends the silence as the challenges facing the legal system in the
country has been spoken out.

She was speaking at a conference on the theme 'Legal Practice in the 21st Century at the Kairaba Beach Hotel on 28th January 2010, as part of a week long activities on legal matters. She added that the 21st century legal practitioners require the familiarisation of the modern world as they (lawyers) need to develop their chambers for the younger generation.

She challenges the Bar Association to work harder in order to help reduce the crime rate in the country. "Time and energy should be carried by legal practitioners to write books, develop their chambers and that will help the young ones,"
she advised.

Marie Saine Firdaus urge the bar to indulge into workshops, seminars and discussions, noting that there is still room for training in profession until they become a centre of learning,
which will be the best way for the Bar to contribute to the socio-economic
development of the country.

According to her, The Gambia belongs to all of us and we should work together for the development of the country, 'the government will work hand-in-hand with the Bar for the betterment
of the country.'

In her welcoming remark, the President of The Gambia Bar Association, Mrs. Amie Bensouda called the two days conference as key among the events of what she called a busy but productive
week for the Bar. She said that it's been a landmark week comprising a series
of activities designed to enable the Bar to interface with the public, review
and reappraise itself in terms of its capacity to deliver its mandate as
articulated in the constitution of GBA.

"And the focus has been on ethical values in relation to two of our main objectives - the maintenance of professional standards, discipline and etiquette; and the maintenance of the
honour, independence and integrity of the legal profession," she explained.
Another key event for the week she said was a two-day seminar at which they
discussed ethical values and professional standard, reviewed the structures of
their organisation, their constitution and code of conduct and agreed to amend
these instruments to improve their organisation and provide support to their
membership and enhance service delivery.

She also highlighted that the Bar also interacted with the final year students at the University of The Gambia during the seminar, who she said have participated effectively at the
seminar and as part of their advocacy strategy they intend to strengthen their
interaction with the law department and will be developing projects that could
include their active participation in the affairs of the Gambia Bar
Association.

The Bar Week was supported by the Legal Capacity Building Project (LCBP), funded by the DFID of the British Government from 25th to 29th January, 2010. VOL:2 ISSN:61

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