Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, has announced that the long-awaited Legal Education Reform Bill will be submitted to Cabinet this month.
He made the disclosure while addressing the Ghana Bar Association’s (GBA) Annual General Conference.
Dr. Ayine explained that the bill seeks to widen access to legal education and promote equality of opportunity for aspiring lawyers in Ghana. According to him, one of the key features of the reform is the introduction of a one-year practice course to be run by accredited law faculties across the country.
“Upon attaining the Bachelor of Law degree from an accredited university, a student will then enroll in a law practice course in the same university for one academic year,” he stated.
The Attorney General emphasized that the proposed practice course will be tailored to practical aspects of the profession, including civil procedure, advocacy, legal ethics, and the law of evidence.
Dr. Ayine also pushed back against critics who argue that the reform could lead to an oversupply of lawyers and a potential drop in quality. He argued that the existing barriers to entry into the legal profession deprive many Ghanaians of access to justice.
“Even if the quality of legal service can be increased by erecting entry barriers such as the existing ones, it would be achieved at a significant cost to society, that is, the reduced availability of lawyers to ordinary people,” he noted, referencing the work of legal scholar Robin Luckham.
The Attorney General assured stakeholders that the bill is designed to strike a balance between quality and accessibility, ensuring that Ghana produces competent lawyers while expanding opportunities for students across the country.
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Source: Deborah Obenewaa Kwapong/ATLFMNEWS
