Ombudsman Listens to Complaint from Aggrieved Law Graduates Against the Sierra Leone Law School

Friday June 2nd, 2017

The Ombudsman, Mr. Melron Nicol-Wilson, on Friday 2nd June 2017, held a meeting with some aggrieved law graduates from the University of Sierra Leone and the University of Makeni to hear their complaints against the Sierra Leone Law School. 

The aggrieved graduates alleged that the Sierra Leone Law School has refused to admit them to study for the bar, on the grounds that they have failed some of the core law subjects at the LLB level. One of the requirements for admission into the Sierra Leone Law School, as published on the school’s website, is that, the applicant must have at least a grade C in six core law subjects at the undergraduate level i.e. Contract Law, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Land Law, Law of Torts and Equity and the Law of Trust.

The complainants, however, argue that having a grade C in core subjects is not part of the requirements for admission as stated in the legislations governing the Law School. They pointed out that, the Law School is only now trying to legislate the said requirement after they had been denied admission. In fact, they report that Parliament recently withdrew the statutory instrument that proposed the core subject requirement. They also claimed that the Law School has always admitted students with law degrees, and continue to do so, regardless of the grades the students have in the core subjects. The requirement, they continue, is a degree in law from 3rd Class upwards, and some of them claim to have 2nd Class uppers.  

After listening to the allegations, the Ombudsman promised the complainants that he would investigate the matter speedily and fairly. In line with the procedures of the Office, the Ombudsman has written to the Sierra Leone Law School for a response to the said allegations and is awaiting a reply.