Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor: Democratisation of legal education in Ghana – Nsemkeka
Legal education is the process of learning about the law and the legal profession. It often consists of coursework at a law school, followed by hands-on experience in various legal aid clinics and extracurricular activities like moot courts and law reviews. In many jurisdictions, it involves taking a bar exam to prove one’s proficiency before practicing law. This process is currently the applicable process in Ghana. One can only become a lawyer by obtaining legal education and sitting for the bar exams and only upon successful certification that that person can begin practicing as a lawyer.
For citizens to have the full enjoyment of their civic capacities, they need some basic knowledge of at least some aspects of law. Individuals and officials who perform important roles involing the law such as policemen, businessmen or politicians, need an understanding of parts of the law and its underlying policies and values in order to be effective at their roles.
To this end, understading the law and the need afford citizens legal education are essential in our everyday life. Indeed, every aspect of human life is characterized by law, from the food we eat, how we live with our neighbours, how we step out of our homes, the use of our roads, our engagement with others in our everyday activities, and our return to our homes afre all regulated by law. As a result, there is the need to encourage individuals to have interest and undertake legal education whenever they deem it necessary. Although there is the need to regulate access to legal education, that must not be done at the detriment of the state.
This discussion would touch on some important aspects of our legal education by examining the history of legal education in Ghana, speaking around the status existing and the need to legislate for the freedom of legal education.
History of legal education in Ghana
The legal system of Ghana was made up of two streams following the presence of British colonialism in the Gold Coast: colonialism introduced English law side by side the indigenous customary law which were mainly administered by the chiefs and adjudicators. Effectuating the Bond of 1844 and the subsequent passing of the Supreme Court Ordinance in 1876 in the Parliament of the United Kingdom to establish a Supreme Court for the entire Gold Coast colony, paved the way for the implantation of British legal system in the Gold Coast, now Ghana. The passage of the Supreme Court Ordinance Act has also played a crucial role in developing and shaping what is known today as the Common Law of Ghana.
The phenomenon of introduction of the English Legal System made it imperative and urgent, the training of ‘natives’ in the knowledge of English Law and practice. This urgent need led to many ‘natives’ traveling to the United Kingdom to obtain legal training. This means that legal education in Ghana pre-independence era, was dominated by formal education and certification from the United Kingdom.
Ghana gained her independence in the year 1957 and soon began putting in place measures to modify legal education. Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah recognized the need for locally trained legal professionals. With the understanding that we needed lawyers who embody the values of the local people, some reforms were instroduced. The Legal Practitioners Act 1958 established the General Legal Council, which in turn founded the Ghana School of Law in 1958, making it the first law school in Sub-Saharan Africa. The University of Ghana also established a law faculty in 1958, which eventually become the University of Ghana School of Law in the 2014/15 academic year.
By 1963, following the admissions into the Ghana School of Law, Ghana witnessed the calling to the bar of some 9 lawyers to the admiration of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. However, contrary to the existing training and focus of earlier lawyers who received training outside of Ghana, Dr. Nkrumah sought to reorient the Ghana-trained laywer. In his speech on the occasion, he stated as follows:
I send this message of warm congratulations to the first group of nine lawyers who have passed out successfully from the Ghana School of Law. I also wish to congratulate the Chairman and members of the Ghana Legal Council, the Board of Legal Education and the staff of the School on this happy occasion.
The Law School, which I formally opened in January 1961, was established by us in order to make available in Ghana at reasonable cost, sound legal education appropriate to Ghana and based on African political and social conditions.
It is gratifying that the Ghana Law School has been able to produce its first ninequalified lawyers. The demand for the services of lawyers is great and varying. Our local authorities, our city and municipal councils, state corporations and enterprises, and the central government itself, will benefit greatly from the services of lawyers. Lawyers in Ghana will therefore be called upon to play an increasingly important role in the progress, development and reconstruction of the country.
This foundational statement of Dr. Nkrumah has proven efficacious over the years. The demand for lawyers has grown in leaps and bounds. However, even though we have made some progress in the manner we provide legal education with increased number of lawyers in the market, the country still lags behind in meeting the adequacy of the demand. Professional legal education has received little innovations, leaving many who desire to acquire professional certification to practice as solisitors and barristers without the opportunity to do so.
Status quo of Legal Education in Ghana
In Ghana today, the Ghana School of Law is the primary institution responsible for professional legal training in Ghana. As a pre-condition, a person who wishes to receive professional legal education is expected to first obtain a Bachelor of Laws degree from an accredited tertiary institution. Currently, there are both private and public institutions providing training in Bachelor of Laws (LLB) programmes, the preliquisite programme of qualification into professional legal education. This has opened up the number of persons attending programmes at the various university faculties to obtain basic training in law. Unfortunately, the phenomenon operates as a funnel which limits the intake into professional legal education. While many train to obtain their LLB qualifications, access to the Ghana School of Law to train and be certified as a professional lawyer is restricted.
Currently, there are more than 25 tertiary educational institutions, both public and private which have faculties running LLB programmes. Outside the traditional regular intakes, many have introduced what is called the Post First Degree (PFD) intake which has increased the number of graduates churned out every year.
As a result, the number of students who sit for the Ghana Law School entrance exams have increased. In the last five years, the numbers stands as follows:
- In the year 2020, a total of 2,763 students took the entrance exams. Only 1,045 made it for the selection.
   2. In the 2021, a total of 2,824 candidates while only 790 passed.
   3. In the year 2022, only 699 out of a total of 2,654 who sat for the entrance exams passed for professional legal education.
   4. For the 2023 intanke, only 964 passedwhile a total of 1,964 failed to make it to the selection list.
   5. For the 2024 year, 1,441 passed the entrance exam for admission into the Ghana School of Law out of the over 3,000that took the exams.
Ghana’s population has seen a surge in numbers. This comes with its attendant demands for increased professional services, including the services of lawyers. Institutions, both private and public, require in-house legal units to advice and guide them on decisions that have legal implications. This would go a long way to reduce the number of cases that are found in the law courts while leaving sufficient space for serious legal matters only to be found in our court rooms.
This has led to arguments from lawyers and non-lawyers for the need to expand the Ghana Law School including suggestions for expanding the institutions that should run professional legal education to enable improved intake.
The argument on the other hand, had remained on the back of the possibility of compromising quality while others are of the view that there are too many lawyers in the system. On the question of whether there are “too many” lawyers in Ghana, it is not a simple yes or no answer. While the number of lawyers is growing, the demand for specialized legal expertise and the need for equitable access to justice across the country suggest that the legal profession needs to adapting to the evolving needs of Ghana’s economy and society faster than it currently is doing.
Even on this, the statistical standpoint reveals a rather ironic position. The ratio of lawyers to citizens averagely needs to be 1:250. As it stands, we have one lawyer is to 5000 citizens. These statistics do not reveal a country that is producing too many lawyers. As a matter of fact, we are under-lawyered in this country.
On the other leg of whether or not educating more lawyers would compromise the quality of legal professionals, it remains a complex issue with valid arguments on both sides. While expanding access to legal education is a valid and important call,, maintaining high standards is equally crucial. While some argue that increased access could lead to a lower quality at the Bar if not managed properly, others are of the believe that wider access can ultimately benefit the legal system and society.
While both arguments present valid consideration, there is the need for a vigorous reform that expand access to professional legal education and provide opportunities to all qualified LLB holders by granting accreditation to certified law faculties to undertake the professional law qualification course.
This suggestion does not take away the role of the General Legal Council as the professional body to oversee the quality and training and certification of lawyers in Ghana.
Legislation for Freedom for legal education in Ghana
The proponents for the freedom of access to legal education and the need for legislation for same, predicate their argument on the fact that legal education need not be prohibitive. It must equally be accessible like all other professional education. As many as are willing, so long as they pass and possess the requirement, must be given the opportunity to go through professional legal education instead of putting in place impediments that cut short their dreams and desires.
Currently, the Ghana School of Law, popularly known as ‘Makola Law School’, is the only institution with mandate to train law professionals while the General Legal Council is the only body mandated to certify and enroll lawyers to qualify to practice as lawyers under the laws of Ghana. The Ghana School of Law has satellite campuses in Kumasi at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), and the Ghana Institutte of Public Administration (GIMPA).
A forward-looking legal regime can look at expanding the capacity of faculties that are currently running LLB programmes and be accredited to run professional legal education. As a practical approach, and for purposes of maintaining standards, all public universities that enroll students on the LLB programmes can be enhanced and their capacities built to become campuses for professional legal training.
This approach does not in any way take away the crucial supervisory and professional role of the General Legal Council as the body responsible for the professional training and conduct of lawyers. This Body, would remain the ultimate in certifying who becomes a lawyer through their quality assurance measures. There is no doubt that this aproach would enhance the number of lawyers in the systsm and provide a good solution to the wide gap in the ratio of citizen to lawyer, as well as provide a solid legal foundation for institutions to acquire the services of lawyers and seek legal advise in matters that bother on corporate governance but which have legal implications, and reduce the number of litigations that come before the courts.
Conclusion
Legal education remains a right rather than a privilege. This means that everyone who wishes and seeks to pursue a career in legal education must be able to do so like any profession without hindrance. What matters most is that the person possess the qualifications to undertake a study in legal education, and that must come ‘freely’. Unfortunately, legal education in Ghana over the years, had been slow in accommodating the numbers even in the face of rising population, rising needs for legal representation, changes in living conditions and trade with associated business prospects.
With this slow response to the changing demands of society, some still argue that the legal profession must not be opened up due to fears of compromising on quality. But, even products which are produced on a large scale, are held to measure up to quality so long as quality assurance measures are put in place and are enforced. In the space of legal education, the situation cannot be different.
I have taken steps to elaborate on what can be done. These are no new arguments. This presentation only reiterates the views and expanded on the perspectives as I believe that arguments for the opening up of professional legal education to Ghanaians stands to the advantage of the country and does not in any way, compromise the quality of lawyers once the mechanisms for sustaining quality training and output are in place.