The House of Assembly has long been distinguished by large populations of lawyers. At present, eight of the 30 parliamentarians in the Lower Chamber are lawyers, three of them Senior Counsels, the erstwhile QCs. It stands to reason, some might say, that the lawgivers of our land ought rightly to be men and women schooled in the law.With that reason goes the presumption that such intimate knowledge of, and, hopefully, love, for the law makes for some good laws of the land.We propose, however, to posit a varying view. It is precisely because of the preponderance of legal eagles in our houses of Parliament that far too little change is effected by lawyers, particularly in the policing of other lawyers and in making sure that the operations of the law are truly just, fair and equitable.It is reasonable to question whether this, like any other interest group, would be keen to vote against the culture that spawned it - as rice merchants would be slow to pass taxes on rice imports or as the sugar barons fought tooth and nail against better wages and living conditions for the workers they once owned as slaves. Justice is not only in the realm of criminal law; it must also be found in the application of basic civil, family and estate procedures. We draw particular attention to the transfer and conveyancing of land - the means by which families pass land ownership from one generation to another.
