The changes in the structure at the University’s law course to conform with the Bologna Process has opened a can of worms in student-faculty relations.
In a course where precision and outspokenness has always been encouraged, rarely, if ever, have opposing law student organisations attempted to present a united front.
The Għaqda Studenti tal-Liġi (GħSL – Law Students Society) and the European Law Students’ Association (ELSA) have traditionally always been divided.
It may be easy to claim that the inability of law students to agree about anything is at the heart of – and necessitates – the fact that various antagonistic law student organisations are present on campus, but recent developments seem to have proved otherwise.
In the legal studies controversy, both have had seemingly differing positions that only served to confuse and frustrate prospective students.
The confrontational stance between the two seems to have come to a full during the recent debate regarding the title that prospective students will ultimately end up with.
This stance has seemingly been dispelled by the launch of a third law organisation this year, the Junior Chamber of Advocates.
Their involvement in the controversy prompted a call for a joint consultative meeting, hosted by ELSA. All three organisations reacted positively to the idea of cooperation.
Moreover, this meeting served to dispel the gross misunderstandings caused by the changes in the law course. Would it be too far-fetched to hope for further cooperation between the organisations, perhaps through annual or periodical meet-ings? (Fully-fledged cooperation between the law organisations is pretty much unprecedented.)
This shouldn’t be such an unrealistic notion, and would go a long way to providing a position that is truly in line with the law students’ interests, especially since this is supposedly the purpose of such organisations.
Such an arrangement might end up working out in favour of the students when tackling issues where a united position, rather than factional splits, might make all the difference.
The biggest question that remains unanswered is whether any particular organisation is willing to actively take the first step and initiate this unprecedented move.
The meeting hosted by ELSA might be a small step for an organisation, but a huge leap forward for the law profession.
Andrea Gonzi is CEO of Insite Malta.