First and second year law students went on a very enjoyable and informative visit to the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, London.

When we arrived we were very concerned that we would not be able to enter the Royal Courts of Justice as a couple of protestors had glued themselves to the front railings of the court and so we could not enter the court via the public entrance. We nevertheless entered the Royal Courts of Justice via a side entrance and spent the whole day witnessing 'law in action' by observing a number of very interesting cases.

The first case we observed was particularly pertinent for BNU law students in view of the students' recent Bail Day application assignment as the case revolved around, whether the Crown Court has the jurisdiction to overturn a decision to grant bail by a magistrate’s court. The legal discussions that ensued were most riveting.

The second case involved planning issues and referenced statutes from 1847 and 1879 when Queen Victoria was on the throne! It was nevertheless wonderful to hear my hero Sherlock Holmes being quoted in court! One of the barristers in this case cited Sherlock Holmes when he used the phrase, "two dogs cannot bark." He explained that this phrase came from the Sherlock Holmes book: ‘The Adventure of Silver Blaze’ written by Arthur Canon Doyle. A murder mystery was solved by Sherlock Holmes in this book by identifying the murderer from his dog, namely that his dog did not bark whilst he was committing his crime.

Student Adelaide Manu said of the visit:  "I found it very interesting because I could see what we learnt in class in action and this made the visit even more understandable. And speaking to the barrister after the case gave us further insight into the legal arguments we heard in court."

Another student, Marcia Benjamin said: "I would recommend that every student should come to the courts and witness law in action because you get to hear different points of view, hear different submissions made by barristers, observe how the judges deal with the barristers themselves and the questions they pose. What I also noticed is that  the barristers have to be on their toes, they have to be really sharp  They need to know what they are talking about and answer the questions on point and that is what I enjoyed about  the trip as well, witnessing two fine barristers plying their trade."