Former President of the Ghana Bar Association, Sam Okudzeto, has criticised the passage of the Legal Education Bill, 2025, arguing that the legal profession was excluded from a reform that directly affects it.
Parliament passed the Bill last week, introducing sweeping changes to Ghana’s legal education system. The legislation ends the monopoly of the Ghana School of Law and allows accredited universities to provide professional legal training. It also establishes a new Council for Legal Education and Training to regulate the sector and oversee a national bar examination framework.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express, Okudzeto said the process leading to the law’s passage failed to involve the GBA, the main professional body representing lawyers across the country.
“I had one complaint in the first place when this bill was proposed, the Ghana Bar Association was not involved at all, which I thought was rather strange,” he said.
He argued that reforms of such magnitude should have included direct consultation with the Bar. According to him, the GBA’s nationwide structure—comprising regional representatives and a governing council—positions it as the appropriate body to provide input on matters affecting the profession.
“One would have thought that this matter should have been referred to the GBA for their input, because they are the members of the profession,” he added.
Okudzeto further revealed that although the Association sought engagement with Parliament, it was not granted the opportunity to present its views.
“And yet nothing was referred to us. I think an application was made to Parliament for us to have an interview with the council, and it was never fulfilled,” he said, noting that the Association only learned of the development after the Bill had been passed.
Describing the situation as concerning, he stressed that Parliament has a responsibility to consult relevant professional bodies when legislating on issues that directly impact them.
“My view is that when we are talking about a profession, it means that anytime Parliament is confronted with an issue relating to a profession, Parliament should get the professional body to be involved,” he stated.
