Campbell Law in Ghana: Students visit Supreme Court, Parliament, Elmina Castle before starting classes

Since the last update, our group of students and faculty have done much and seen more. On Thursday the group headed to the Supreme Court of Ghana to hear arguments — the ruling being hand-written and delivered 45 minutes after the arguments concluded.

We enjoyed a tour of the Ghanaian Parliament and had the opportunity for a Ghanaian civics lesson from a famous Ghanaian reporter now working in government.

On Friday, the group left Accra to begin the academic portion of the trip. Once in Cape Coast, we all settled in at the Sasakawa Guest House on the University of Cape Coast campus.

Saturday was devoted to experiencing Elmina Castle — a fort on the Ghanaian coast, built by the Portuguese 500 years ago. Captured by the Dutch in 1637, the castle was a significant and brutal origin point in the Atlantic Slave trade until 1814. Ultimately, our experience at the castle was so horrifically moving, it is hard to put into words.

Sunday afforded us an opportunity to unwind at Coconut Grove, an enclave near the beach. We swam, read, ate and enjoyed the beautiful weather with a pleasant west wind.

Classes began on Monday (Memorial Day) morning. Professor Kevin Lee began the coursework by lecturing on the nature of and ethics behind international human rights law — addressing challenging questions with stimulating discussion and thought experiments in ethics.

The first day of studies concluded with a lecture from Professor Lee on the role of religion in Ghanaian culture which will serve as a primer for the comparative law coursework. All of that, and we’re just getting started.

For more photos of the law school’s inaugural study abroad experience in Ghana, visit Campbell Law’s Facebook page.