Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie has refuted claims that Ghana’s new Legal Education Reform Bill will undermine the quality of education, asserting that the bill addresses long-standing challenges in the country’s legal education system.
The bill, he noted, will expand access to professional legal training while upholding standards.
In his opinion, the legislation marks a significant milestone in resolving the ongoing tension between expanding opportunities and maintaining professional credibility, as he emphasised during the enrolment of 155 new lawyers to the bar.
“You are entering the legal profession at a moment of legal transition. For some time now, Ghana has struggled with a difficult balance: how to expand access to legal education while maintaining professional standards,” he said.
“The result has often been a tension between opportunity and credibility. We are now resolving that tension.”
He added that the framework will reduce institutional bottlenecks, address the backlog of students awaiting professional training, and strengthen the integrity of the qualification process through transparent, standardised assessments.
“The principle is simple: opportunity must be widened, but standards must be held firmly,” he added.
Background
Parliament on Thursday, March 26, 2026, passed the Legal Education Reform Bill.
The bill, which is awaiting presidential assent, establishes a Council for Legal Education and Training, which will regulate legal education and set curriculum standards across institutions.
The core feature of the bill is the transfer of professional legal training from the Ghana School of Law to accredited universities.
Under the new system, approved universities will offer a Law Practice Training Course to prepare candidates for a national bar examination, creating a uniform standard for professional qualification.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
