Implementation will begin without delay – A-G on legal education reforms

After years of frustration and calls for change, Ghana is finally taking concrete steps to make legal education more accessible and fairer.

President John Dramani Mahama has signed the Legal Education Bill, 2026, into law and the government is wasting no time getting started.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, May 11 2026, following the signing, Attorney General and Minister of Justice Dominic Ayine announced that implementation would begin immediately.

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/President-Mahama-signs-Legal-Education-Reform-Bill-into-law-2033956 President Mahama signs Legal Education Reform Bill into law

One of the first major actions, he said, will be dissolving the old General Legal Council and establishing a new Council for Legal Education and Training to oversee legal education across the country.

“Implementation will begin without delay,” Dr Ayine said after confirming that President Mahama had signed the bill into law.

According to him, the newly established council will immediately take over the responsibility of regulating and accrediting institutions that intend to run the Law Practice Course for LLB graduates seeking qualification to the Bar.

“This is a much-anticipated reform law that is supposed to radically reform legal education to create equality of opportunity for persons aspiring to be lawyers in this country,” he stated.

For far too long, many talented young Ghanaians who completed their LLB degrees found their dreams of becoming lawyers blocked by limited spaces at the Ghana School of Law. Each year, hundreds of qualified graduates were left disappointed, unable to proceed with the professional training needed to join the Bar.

The old system, managed solely by the General Legal Council, had come under heavy criticism for being too restrictive and lacking equal opportunity.

The new reforms aim to change that by allowing multiple accredited institutions to offer the Law Practice Course under the supervision of the new council.

This should significantly expand access and give more people a realistic chance to qualify as lawyers.

Ayine disclosed that both the establishment of the council and the accreditation of institutions are expected to be completed before the end of the year.

He also revealed that the government intends to support the implementation of the reforms financially through the 2027 national budget to be presented to Parliament later this year by Cassiel Ato Forson, the finance minister.

NA/AM

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