Plans to establish a law school at Tonga National University have received significant backing from some of the Kingdom’s most senior judges, who have offered their legal expertise to help develop the proposed Bachelor of Laws programme.
Lord Chief Justice Malcolm Bishop KC, Justice Edward Targowski KC, Lord Dalgety KC and Justice Tavake Afeaki have expressed support for the university’s efforts to establish the law school.
TNU said the judges had also offered to help scope the development of a curriculum for a Bachelor of Laws degree and related programmes.
The judges visited the university’s Pahu campus on August 27, where they shared experiences from their judicial work in Tonga and overseas.
A central recommendation was that the proposed law programme should teach laws relevant to Tonga and the needs of Tongan people.
The judges regarded TNU as an appropriate institution to deliver the programmes and also expressed support for the university’s teaching of Tongan language and culture.
The initiative could provide an opportunity for students to undertake university-level legal education within Tonga while placing greater emphasis on the Kingdom’s own laws, language and cultural context.
Vice-Chancellor Dr Giulio Masasso Tuʻikolongahau Paunga welcomed the judiciary’s involvement, describing its support as important to the continuing development of the proposed law school.
“I am grateful and honoured for the tremendous support; I couldn’t ask for anything better than this,” Dr Paunga said.
The university has not yet announced when the proposed law school or Bachelor of Laws programme would begin, with curriculum development still being scoped.
