Ecole de Droit des Gonaives - Haiti Observer Blog

On Friday, September 25, 2015, Pierre-Richard Casimir, the Minister of Justice, presided over the graduation ceremony of the Faculty of Law and Economics of Gonaïves "Hugues Saint-Pierre" (2011-2015).

The graduating course was sponsored by Minister Casimir's department and the convocation of the graduating ceremony was held in the city of Haitian independence, Gonaïves. The ceremony was attended by the dean of the Tribunal of First Instance of Gonaïves, the Government Commissioner of the city and other notable personalities. In his speech for the occasion, the minister has advised the new graduates to keep their minds open for continuous learning and development and put their learned lessons into application for the welfare of the state.

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As it was the case with Prosper Avril, former president Jean Claude Duvalier was invited to celebrate the 2010th anniversary of our independence in the historic and revolutionary city of Gonaives. In term of revolution, the former Haitian dictator would be the first to tell you based on his experience with this Haitian city. His exile to France was the result of an ongoing protest that originated in Gonaives in 1986, with the assassination of three High School students.

Since his return from exile, it seems that former President Jean Claude Duvalier has taken it upon himself to built bridges between the city of Gonaives and himself. Beside this 2010th anniversary of our independence in which he was invited to participate in, Mr. Duvalier was invited in Gonaives to sponsor a promotion of Jurists at the Faculty of Law of Gonaives which had raised a great outcry. Many people feel at the time it was inappropriate as the former dictator did not have any respect for the law or justice during his reign.

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Despite the changing gender roles and the growing feminist movement, female presidents or heads of state are quite rare in Haiti. One of these very few powerful women in history is former Haitian president Ertha Pascal-Trouillot. Politics has always been said to be meant for males as power and control are often associated with being a man. But as time went by, women began competing with this notion and have been made leaders and politicians along with men.

Pascal-Trouillot was born in a suburb of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince in 1943. Her father was an iron worker while her mother was a seamstress and was the ninth child of their ten children. The future president acquired a law degree from the prestigious École de Droit des Gonaives and was a judge for federal courts for more than ten years. She then became the first woman justice of the country's Supreme Court. And in 1990, Pascal-Trouillot was proclaimed as Haiti's temporary president after the successful revolt against former president Prosper Avril which put him out of office.

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For Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier named godfather "parain" for the promotion Robert Blanc at the Law school and Economic sciences in Gonaives. This was done for the 2011graduating class.

This is something that will make me take a moment to think about" Jean Claude Duvalier, a former Dictator, someone who was heading a government where the law was not used or respected, is being named the godfather of a graduating class of future layers.

I believe the former Haitian dictator, Jean-Claude Duvalier is Haitian like all Haitians. by that, I mean he has the right to live in his country. I also believe that we need to start working on reconciliation, something that President Michel Martelly has been working on. I only have one problem: Using Jean Claude Duvalier as a figure in anything that has to do with law.

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