SC Begins Case Against Legal Council

Supreme Court of Ghana

The Supreme Court has set April 11 to commence hearing of the suit filed against the General Legal Council (GLC) challenging the methods and criteria used in the selection and admission of LLB holders who desire to acquire license to practice law in the country.

The seven-member panel of judges presided over by Justice Jones Dotse has also ordered the parties to file a joint memorandum of issues for determination by the court.

In the view of Justice Dotse, the case has been pending in the court for so long a time, stressing that the parties have not taken the matter seriously.

However, the judges admitted the amended statement filed by lawyers for the GLC on Monday.

The judges said the court would admit same as though it had been filed within time as earlier instructed by the court.

Kizito Beyou, lawyer for the council, earlier pleaded with the court to admit the document he filed out of time.

Ofosua Amagyei, lawyer for the plaintiffs, said she does not oppose the application for the admission of the document.

Dorothy Afiriyie Ansah, who represented the Attorney-General, also did not oppose the application.

The plaintiff- Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, the US based law professor on October 15, 2015, filed a suit against the GLC and the Attorney-General over the way and manner in which the Ghana School of Law con­ducts its entrance exams and interviews students who want admission into the school.

He argued that the rigid ceiling imposed by the GLC on Bachelor of Law Degree (LLB) holders, who would be al­lowed an opportunity to train and become lawyers, is grossly unfair and overrides national interest.

By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson 

jeffdegraft44@yahoo.com