Rose D’Sa, Kenyan lawyer who excelled in Britain and Europe

By Cyprian Fernandes in Sydney Australia

Kenya-born Rose M. D’Sa gained a doctorate in law, qualified as a barrister, worked at the Human Rights Unit of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, and became a professor of European law, eventually becoming the longest-serving British woman on the EU’s Economic and Social Committee in Brussels.

During the two decades, she did some of her best work on a variety of legal issues and wrote numerous books which remain the reference material of eminence.

For many decades she remained true to her Kenyan roots and held on to her citizenship until her marriage to an Englishman and the acquisition of British citizenship.

How she came to choose law as her future career is quite fascinating, especially at that very young age.

Perhaps it also highlights her ability to clinically examine a subject, an action, a choice or even a circumstance. The natural ability to do that would come in very handy in her future.

“My future career plans were certainly not focussed on law. Instead, I had the notion that I could somehow become a professional tennis player. My father harboured no such delusion and urged me to study as hard as I could. It gradually dawned upon me that he was right. My talent for the sport was insufficient to get me to the highest levels. It was also quite evident quite early on that although I loved playing tennis and was good at running, I disliked the intense physical effort of training off-court. Gyms, in particular, were totally unknown to me and were not among my favourite places.

“My second choice of career was to follow a tradition and become a doctor, as others in my family had done. This was regarded as a prestigious profession within the Goan community and elsewhere. However, once I was away from the influence of my parents, and whilst studying for my “A” levels at Millfield School, I began to question whether my interest and aptitude for science subjects were genuine. In biology, I had an aversion to dissecting rats and goldfish and was aware that my squeamishness was not ideal for a prospective doctor. Practical science classes were out of my comfort zone and I nearly caused a minor explosion in the chemistry lab through general incompetence.”

Science career

An aptitude test revealed that she showed little or no ability for a career in science. Amongst a list of career suggestions she instinctively chose law. She could have chosen Human Resources (her late father’s field).

At the back of her mind “there was a small but growing feeling of excitement.” Her favourite teacher in Loreto Convent Valley Road, Nairobi, Kay Hopkins, had once suggested law as a career because of “her aptitude for the English language, debating and acting.” “I have always had the gift of the gab and my decision meant that I would make a living from it.”

It was not all easy going down the legal path as she explains “…I faced many obstacles and had to change direction more than once. The law profession seemed to be upper-class dominated and I was very conscious of being an immigrant and the sole member of my family in Britain, none of whom were lawyers.”

Public International Law PhD

No matter what the challenges, Rose M. D’Sa never looked back. After a couple of setbacks, she was finally accepted by Birmingham University and the rest they say is another story, another history. She was called to the bar in 1981 at Middle Temple Hall and in the next year was awarded her PhD in public international law by Birmingham University.

She was a visiting lecturer at the Kenya School of Law and was proposed by the Kenya government for a senior position with the Commonwealth Secretariat in London. She had already done considerable work with the secretariat on compliance with international human rights Law. She also held lectureships in law at Cardiff and Bristol University.

She was appointed as the first Professor of European Law at the University of Glamorgan in Wales and was also awarded a Jean Monnet Chair in EC Law by the European Commission. After two successive renewals of her mandate, she was awarded, as was customary, a medal of honour by the EU’s Economic and Social Committee in Brussels but went on to serve for over two decades.

She has attended some of the most important legal conferences held around the world but especially in the Commonwealth. She has been a familiar name in many legal circles around the world.

On the occasion of Britain’s departure from the European Union, the European Economic and Social Committee published the following press release:

“In her speech, Ms D’Sa expressed her sadness for the UK leaving the EU. “The EU has lost my adopted country, the United Kingdom, a permanent member state of the UN Security Council and a wealthy, influential, enterprising and wonderful nation that fought to liberate Europe in two World Wars. It is a catastrophe.”

In addition to sadness, Ms D’Sa also voiced some criticism of the EU and European leaders: "Can the EU yet choose to examine its own conscience, or will it simply move on with business as usual? Has it perhaps pressed too quickly for the ideal of an ever-closer political and economic Union within our lifetime? Was it worth losing the UK for this ideal?

"I am grateful for this opportunity to speak and ask God to continue to bless us all."

These were the last words pronounced by Ms D’Sa as a member of the EESC after 22 years of serving as a UK representative.

She was appointed for the first time in 1998 and has since contributed to the drafting of numerous EESC opinions, especially those of key constitutional significance such as the reform of the European Treaties, as well as many issues connected with the single market. She is especially valued for her ability to explain and clarify complex legal problems and persuade people to reach consensus on controversial subjects.”

Rose writes in her book: “In the main, my contribution concerned commercial matters largely related to the Single Market of the EU and often on the subject of State Aid, on which topic I established my reputation.

It may have seemed to others that I had an authoritative understanding of these matters. The highly respected German science professor, Gerd Wolf, told me after his retirement that “when you spoke in the meetings it was for me as if suddenly clarity and reason have emerged”."

This writer would like to think there were many others of the same opinion as she was also consulted by many of her British and European legal colleagues over the years.