Campaign for legal education reform suffers Supreme Court blow

A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court has dismissed a case challenging the accreditation of the Ghana School of Law as the only institution to provide professional law courses.

“We are of the view that the the case does not properly trigger with the jurisdiction of the court,” the court held.

According to the court, while some of the reliefs sought by Professor Asare were not properly before the court, others raised no issue of interpretation or enforcement of a constitutional provision.

The court did not read the full reasons for dismissing the case but indicated that it would be filed at the registry of the court.

A senior CDD-fellow, Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare had dragged the Attorney General and General Legal Council to court on grounds that the current arrangement on legal education is unconstitutional.

He wanted the court to rule that private individuals have the right to establish and offer professional law course for interested parties.

His argument was that “Every person shall have the right, at his own expense, to establish and maintain a private school or schools at all levels and of such categories and in accordance with such conditions as may be provided by law.”

He also wanted a declaration that the distinction between the Professional Law Course, run by the Ghana School of Law, and the Academic Law Course, run by approved Universities, is arbitrary and capricious and done only to further the monopoly power of the Ghana School of Law in violation of Articles 296 (b).

But this argument was opposed by the Attorney General and the General Legal Council.

Prof. Asare has been an advocate for the professional program to be run by accredited universities.

The seven-member panel was presided over by Justice Sule Gbadegbe, with Justices Yaw Appau, Samuel K. Marful-Sau, Agnes M. Dordzie, Nene Amegatcher, Professor Nii Ashie Kotey and Mariama Owusu as the members.