New Faculty of Law building opens the door to more opportunities
The opening of the new Faculty of Law building on the North-West University's (NWU's) campus in Mahikeng confirms the university's commitment to produce future leaders and game-changers.
Chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng officially opened the new Faculty of Law building on the campus in Mahikeng on 20 November 2018.
The faculty on this campus currently has 939 undergraduate students, 75 post-graduate students and 28 academic staff members.
The executive dean of the faculty, Prof Stephen de la Harpe, says the law building was completed at an opportune time. "The faculty could now confidently state in its LLB improvement plan that this new building will enable equity, redress and alignment across the NWU's three campuses.
"This building is a symbol and living testimony of real integration and functioning as a unitary faculty," says Prof De la Harpe.
The new building boasts features such as video conferencing facilities and a state-of-the-art moot court.
During the opening ceremony, the chief justice spoke about law and social justice.
He said social justice is not only the government's responsibility, but that everyone needs to choose to be an activist of social justice in their own social space.
He also urged black and white South Africans to work together.
"What is it we can do, based on our Constitution, to confront the social ills in the country? Intellectuals must find solutions on how the previously excluded individuals can begin to participate meaningfully in the economy of the country," he added.
NWU vice-chancellor, Prof Dan Kgwadi, thanked Chief Justice Mogoeng for his commitment to the university. "The NWU's Faculty of Law has a long-standing relationship with the Chief Justice. He lectured part-time at the faculty in 1992 and 1993, and received an honorary doctorate in 2013."
Judging by the quality of its alumni, which includes various Constitutional Court judges, the faculty is playing an important role in the development of law in South Africa.