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Legal drafting in Belize
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Jo Hopkins graduated from her LPC in 2005 and was looking for a new challenge to get some further work experience prior to starting her training contract. Prior to her project Jo felt confident in her Para legal abilities but wanted to stretch herself, both in a legal capacity and on personal level, beyond what she could achieve in the UK.
Jo was matched with the needs of the Ministry of Education. Each ministry has a backlog of legal issues needing resolved because Legal skills and staff are in short and expensive supply in Belize. The Ministry required a volunteer to assist them with their Education Rules and their compliance with international and national protocols.
Jo focused her time on the Primary School rules. To assess the rules Jo has to make herself familiar with all the International Conventions that had a bearing on the treatment of children in Education and compare these with Belize’s national policies and legislation. This comparison raised several contentious issues that Jo had to deal with sensitively but remain true to her own convictions.
Time was spent liaising with other agencies to ensure the education rules reflected their concerns and policies although this element of her project was not as extensive as she would have hoped.
Jo also assisted the Ministry in dealing with employee disciplinary cases – purely on an advising basis. Many of the cases she came across in this context encapsulated the conflicts she witnessed in the rules.
There were difficulties in Jo’s project, “I initially found the culture and work ethic of the Ministry very hard to deal with. I found there was a real culture of corruption and a reluctance to communicate with other parties. I dealt with this by prioritising my placement objectives and focusing on what I wanted to achieve the most.”
Jo made a lasting impact on the Ministry: “They have a first draft of the revised rules which they can now build on to produce an update to date, comprehensive and compliant education law. This new document should be easier to use and clearer so should result in less confusion within the system. Before, because the rules were badly drafted managing authorities could interpret them anyway they wanted and therefore use them to justify unfair or discriminatory practices.”
On a personal level Jo gained both skills and experience, “I feel I have become more confident and outgoing. I have had to be more confident in my own abilities and take on far more responsibility that I have ever been given before. I feel this will set me up well for starting my new job.”
Jo said, “Overall, I have just had a great time. I’ve travelled to some fantastic places and gained really useful work experience in the process.”
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If you are interested in doing a Placement similar to this one, contact us quoting Case Study Reference: Belize Legal advice (MoE)
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