Dr Emir Crowne: Moulding the minds of Caribbean law students
DR EMIR Crowne is gaining a reputation as being one of the Caribbean’s most outspoken sports attorneys.
A senior lecturer in the Faculty of Law, University of Windsor, Crowne is famous for his representation of sprinters Dominique Blake and Riker Hylton in recent anti-doping hearings.
Now, Crowne, a Trinidadian, is also playing a role in helping to produce more of the Caribbean’s brightest minds in law after he was last year appointed as assistant chief examiner for law at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) level.
“As the assistant chief examiner for CAPE law, I am tasked with setting the exams and the corresponding marking schemes,” Crowne said.
He believes that CAPE law is very important because it introduces students, at a very early age, to some basic legal theory. “These concepts are important because as a region, we have evolved beyond English law, so law then becomes one of the hallmarks of our post-colonial identity,” he said.
According to Crowne, it is important for students to understand the difference between Caribbean and English law.
“One of the differences between Caribbean law and English law is that many Caribbean jurisdictions entrench fundamental rights, while English law does not have these, and this is why it is important for the students in the region to be exposed to these concepts from early on,” Crowne said
He explained that the benefit of setting exams across the region is that the Caribbean Examinations Council is sensitive to the intricacies of each Caribbean jurisdiction, as there may be differing opinions on criminal and constitutional matters and they are able to create exams and a grading scheme along those lines.
Crowne, who is also a barrister, has practices in Trinidad and Canada. He states that time management is the key to ensuring that he is ahead of his work and responsibilities.
“You have to know how to use your calendar wisely and I always budget more time than necessary for any item, so when things inevitably spill over, time is built into the schedule to accommodate it,” he said.
He hopes to leave his mark, also, by making law exciting and approachable. “I want law to appeal to the students of that specific age group (CAPE) so it encourages them to perhaps pursue additional studies in law.”
Crowne is very excited about this new role and hopes to pass on this feeling of elation to those sitting the CAPE law exam in 2019.