School of law gets pioneer PhD

By ROBERTLYN KIG
THE University of Papua New Guinea has produced its first Doctor of Philosophy in its School of Law, Doctor Alfred Potou Minei of Kawaliap village, Manus.
Acting vice-chancellor Dr Cecilia Nembou said: “For the first time in nearly 60 years, the School of Law has awarded its first award for a Doctor of Philosophy in Law”.
Minei told The National that it took him five years to complete the doctorate course, saying it was hard to do a PhD at UPNG or any university in PNG.
He wrote his doctoral thesis on “informed consent to medical procedures”, a subject he said critical, but little known in PNG.
The title of the thesis is: “A study of the legal aspects of informed consent in clinical practice settings and in customary practices of communities in the National Capital District and Central province in Papua New Guinea”.
Minei said that the study he undertook was new where he combined three different areas.
“I ventured into a multi-disciplinary studies where I took law, medicine and social science,” he said.
“They were three very big areas and it required a lot of time. However, I went through it with the help of good supervisors in PNG and overseas.”
His two supervisors in PNG were from the medical school and the law school.
Most of the cost of his study in the Masters programme and PhD was covered by the university with the challenge: “Make sure you become our first home-grown scholar”.
“I think I have answered the university’s call,” he said.
He was a medical scientist before taking up law.
He had completed his Bachelor and Masters in Science, along with a Bachelor of Law with Honours and Masters in Law (Research).
He is one of only four people to have completed this level of study in the country.
He has started a programme in the School of Law for students to take up and do their Masters in Law (Research) under his guidance and supervision. “My plan now is to get back into medical school and complete my second PhD in medicine which would only take me about a year,” he said.
“This is for the good of this country.”