Accra, Sept. 15, GNA – Attorney General and Minister of Justice Dr Dominic A. Ayine has urged the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) to maintain professional and political independence.
He urged the Association to remain consistent and “keep its distance from convenience and from the corridors of political power.”
Dr Ayine made the appeal in a speech read on his behalf by his Deputy, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, at the opening of the GBA annual conference at Ada in the Greater Accra Region.
The conference is on the theme: “150 years of Ghana’s Legal Evolution: Transforming the profession and driving its future with industry.”
Dr Ayine said his position was informed by the experience of countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, where bar associations maintained professional independence and kept a distance from political power.
He said the call was not intended to weaken the GBA but to protect its professional credibility.
Dr Ayine also expressed concern about challenges facing young lawyers, including inadequate institutional support, lack of professional indemnity cover and limited opportunities for continuing professional development.
He said some young lawyers were resorting to shortcuts and bending professional rules in pursuit of quick financial returns, to the detriment of their chambers and clients.
The Attorney General also raised concerns about delays in resolving complaints against lawyers through the General Legal Council’s disciplinary machinery, saying they frustrated both complainants and respondents.
He said he would submit the Legal Practitioners Standards Board Bill to Cabinet and subsequently to Parliament
Dr Ayine said the Bill would establish a Legal Practitioners Standards Board to set and maintain standards of professional conduct and continuing competence for legal practitioners.
It would also establish an Independent Disciplinary Committee, separate from licensing and standard-setting functions, with lay and professional representation, security of tenure and time-bound procedures for handling complaints.
Dr Ayine said the Bill would guarantee due process, including the right of persons facing complaints to know the nature of the allegations.
“It is not an attempt by the Executive to bring the discipline of lawyers under political control- quite the opposite.”
He said his office would soon seek stakeholders’ inputs before subjecting the draft legislation to scrutiny and submitting it to Parliament.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Joyce Danso
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