Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has urged the Ghana Law Society (GLS) and Ghana Bar Association (GBA) to work together and avoid allowing the existence of two professional bodies to create divisions within Ghana’s legal profession.
Mr Bagbin made the call on Wednesday at the maiden Annual Bar Conference of the Ghana Law Society in Accra.
He said the emergence of more than one professional body should create room for diversity of ideas and not competing camps within the legal profession.
“Professional pluralism must never deteriorate into institutional rivalry,” the Speaker said.
He stressed that the legal profession was bigger than both the Ghana Law Society and the Ghana Bar Association and urged the leadership of the two bodies to cooperate in areas of common interest.
According to him, such cooperation could cover law reform, continuing professional education, legal ethics, legal aid, research, technology, justice delivery, judicial independence, mentorship and access to justice.
Mr Bagbin said the administration of justice, the rule of law and the Constitution belonged to Ghana and could not be treated as the preserve of any particular professional association.
He also cautioned Parliament against rushing legislation through the House without adequate consultation with stakeholders and experts.
The Speaker said broad consultation was necessary to ensure that laws passed by Parliament were practical, effective and capable of standing the test of time.
He argued that Parliament did not lose its authority by listening to stakeholders before legislating, but rather strengthened its lawmaking role through proper consultation.
Mr Bagbin further called for legal reforms that respond to real problems confronting citizens instead of reforms undertaken merely for the sake of changing existing laws.
He said the effectiveness of a law should ultimately be assessed by its impact on ordinary citizens, including whether it improves access to justice, strengthens accountability and protects rights.
He also urged lawyers to take a leading role in addressing emerging legal questions arising from artificial intelligence, digital finance, cybercrime and automated decision-making.
The conference, themed “Legal Reforms: The Place of the Ghanaian Lawyer,” brought together members of the legal profession and key stakeholders in Ghana’s justice and governance systems.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
