The 38th Conference of the Caribbean Association of Law Libraries (CARALL) opened this morning at the Pegasus Hotel with emphasis on legal research and innovation. 

Addressing the forum on behalf of Attorney General Anil Nandlall, Senior Legal Advisor at the Attorney General’s Chambers, Chevy Devonish said legal research is crucial in informing how societies are built, maintained and changed or developed. 

“It was legal research that produced the case of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, which abolished racial segregation. But it was also legal research, which produced Plessy v. Ferguson, which found that racial discrimination did not violate constitutional rights. It was legal research, which produced Roe v. Wade in 1973, which found that abortion rights were constitutionally protected, and then it was legal research in 2022, which found that there was no such constitutional right. In the Caribbean, legal research produced the landmark cases of Hinds v. The Queen and Collymore v. The Attorney General, which continue to this day to serve as instrumental pieces of our common law,” Devonish pointed out. 

Devonish said legal research and resources provided by law libraries across the Commonwealth Caribbean are not solely intended for Attorneys, but are also intended for legislators, business people, law enforcement officers, and others who may be involved in activities governed by law. 

“Law libraries form the basis of those institutions that are required to help build, maintain and renovate societies. The importance of legal research is therefore unquestionable,” he said. 

Mr. Devonish said legal research is difficult at times, particularly for professionals and students, with the cost of Law Books and Law Reports being extremely high.

He said that reality underscores the importance of Law Libraries, which often provide access to resources for free.

President of CARALL, Myrna Douglas said the Conference of Caribbean Association of Law Libraries is focused on building library collections. With the collections built, attention will be being placed on research, and innovation. 

“Today, our theme is focused on legal research, having built those collections. We are focused on legal research, capacity building and innovation for excellence. These are goals that are intertwined in the theme, as librarians themselves must set goals to grapple with the various changes in our society, the fast pace technological development, which much novelty, artificial intelligence and so on, and so forth, so that we can utilize and build capacity,” Douglas said. 

She said library services must step up to the task, and embrace technology. 

Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Justice Yonette Cummings; Director of Public Prosecution, Shalimar Ali-Hack and President of the Organisation of Commonwealth Caribbean Bar Association, Donovan Walker also made presentations at the event.

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