John Ndebugre, a private legal practitioner and former Zebilla Member of Parliament, has questioned Parliament’s intervention in the dispute involving the 499 students denied admission to the Ghana School of Law.
In an interview, Mr. Ndebugre said that it was needless for the law-making house to intervene in the General Legal Council’s (GLC) efforts to sustain the quality of legal education in Ghana by admitting a few students.
“There was this resolution by Parliament which I did not see the basis for it. They passed it [resolution] all the same and directed it to the Attorney General. He [Attorney General] has now reneged and addressed a letter to the GLC to admit the students somehow.”
Parliament previously directed the GLC to accept the 499 aggrieved students.
The Attorney General’s office said that Parliament’s instruction was unlawful.
However, it has been revealed in a letter issued to the GLC prior to the legislative decision that the Minister of Justice, Godfred Dame, had actually requested that the GLC admit the students.
The Attorney General proposed that the students be accepted in November of this year or in May of 2022 in the letter. He did, however, propose three routes for entrance.
Mr. Ndebugri, on the other hand, is concerned that if admissions procedures are made more flexible, the quality of legal education in Ghana may suffer.
“I am not one of those who thinks that the law practice should belong to a certain family, but I believe it should be of a certain quality. If you want to become a lawyer, there is no problem, it is a fundamental human right, but you should pass through the process. The thing is that there is a certain number they [Ghana School of Law] want to admit so they draw the line when that number is attained,” he explained.
Already, some aggrieved students are in court challenging the refusal of the GLC to admit them.
The Minority in Parliament has also filed a motion in parliament asking the Attorney General’s resignation through a vote of censure for informing parliament that it lacks the authority to request admission of the pupils from the General Legal Council.
Recently, the Attorney General was chastised for implying that practicing law is a privilege, not a right.
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