GBA mad at public commentary on cases by lawyers

The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) says the General Legal Council must enforce the rule which abhors the practice where lawyers comment on cases pending before the courts.

The association says the practice was negatively affecting the image of the legal profession.

In a Communiqué issued in Accra, the Ghana Bar Association “Entreats the General Legal Council (GLC) to ensure full compliance with Rule 8 of the Code of Ethics of the GBA abhorring the grant of interviews on matters pending before the courts to curtail lawyers’ scurrilous attacks on the bench or adversaries in public, thus bringing the legal profession into disrepute, and urges all errant practitioners to commit to the noble ideals and high ethical standards of the legal profession”.

This is one of the many resolutions adopted by the General Assembly of the Bar Association at its recent conference held in Ho in the Volta Region. Opinions, are however, divided on this issue.

A lawyer told Joy News that all lawyers understand that they cannot make prejudicial comments on a case pending before a competent judge. He said a lawyer should only be allowed to educate the public on issues pending in court.

The President of the Greater Accra Bar Association, Frank Davies, told Joy News the point was to caution “unethical” lawyers who are not practising what they were taught in school.

“Lawyers are known to be prosecuting their case on radio” which he said was wrong.

According to Mr Davies, some lawyers have taken the “liberty” to educate the public on matters pending in court to go into the merit of the matter.

He has, therefore, cautioned lawyers against debating their case on radio, noting “[lawyers] should speak about the matter within limit”.

Mr Davies stated “it does not mean you cannot grant interview [to the media]”, eevery lawyer worth his salt should know where to draw the line”.

He said one does not score any legal point by prosecuting his case in the media. When one does that, he said, the person would “actually be setting people up against the judge”, who is the arbiter to determine whose case is good in court.

Mr. Davies, however, stated that lawyers were free to critique the judgments of courts.

Buttressing the points stated by Mr Davies, Member of Parliament for Ofinso South, Ben Abdallah Banda who is also a trained lawyer charged his colleague lawyers to speak to matters as they are or as happened in court.