'Legal education rather needs to be more fairer and accessible' - NDC-UK Chairman

The Chairman of the UK/Ireland Chapter of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Alhaji Alhassan Mbalba has taken on the Chief Justice, Madam Sophia Akuffo over her recent comments on Legal education in Ghana, suggesting that "as long as she supervises legal education and the Judicial system in Ghana, she will not allow the mass production of lawyers in the country".

Addressing the Bench, Bar and Faculty Conference at the Labadi Beach Hotel on the theme “the Changing Landscape in the Law – the Judge, the Lawyer and the Academic”, the Chief Justice said any attempt to allow the production of lawyers without efficient control, checks and balances will be rejected irrespective of who is advocating for it.

According to her, the mass production of lawyers poses a great danger to the people of the country who would require the services of a good lawyer in their life time.

But responding to the Chief Justice in a facebook post, and sighted by Daniel Kaku, Alhaji Alhassan Mbalba indicated that the comments by the Chief Justice does not promote a fair, just and equal society.

He argued, that public discourse on legal education "is not about mass production of lawyers but making legal education accessible to qualified applicants without unfair barriers and restrictions".

He stressed, that the Chief Justice must rather concentrate on liberalising professional legal training like it is done in other jurisdictions, especially in the United Kingdom by "breaking the monopoly enjoyed by the Ghana Law School over legal education education in Ghana".

He suggested, that more universities be licensed to run professional legal education while the Ghana School of Law opens more campuses in the country, especially in the Northern part of the country.

The NDC Chairman, ended by describing as unfortunate, the comments by the Chief Justice and called for legal education to be made more fairer and accessible so that the country can boost of "more of Martin Amidus', Dominic Ayines', Akufo-Addos', Ace Ankomahs', Betty Mould Iddrisus' and Atugubas".