On Tuesday 15 April 2025, the University of Guyana celebrated the official inauguration of its Institute of Judicial Studies (IEJ) at a solemn ceremony in Amphitheatre A on the Troubiran campus.
The event, held under the patronage of Christiane Taubira, the former Minister of Justice, was attended by a wide range of players from the judiciary and the legal profession, underlining the importance of this new structure for the development of the legal sector in the region.
Christiane Taubira, an emblematic figure on the French political landscape, delivered a powerful speech based on what she called "the exceptions of the law". She invited the students of the first class to adopt a critical approach to thinking and to appropriate legal tools in order to understand, question and transform society.
She used the examples of the Code Noir - applicable in French Guiana from 1704 - to illustrate an exception to the law, as well as land law in French Guiana, which differs significantly from that in force in other French regions. In her view, these examples embody the complexity of the law and the importance of never losing sight of the historical, social and cultural realities in which it is embedded.
Addressing the major contemporary issues, the Minister opened up a number of avenues of reflection for future legal professionals: the place of international law in global disorders (the Westphalia Treaties, international ethics, transnational crime, etc.), the differences between common law and continental law systems, the urgency of environmental rights in the context of preparations for COP30 in the Amazon, and the role of the social economy in modern democracies.
The creation of the IEJ in French Guyana marks a significant step forward for higher education and the training of legal professionals in the region. It also demonstrates the University of French Guyana's determination to contribute fully to social debates by training young people who are enlightened, committed and connected to the issues of today's world.
