Parliament must not pass Legal Profession Regulations 2017 into law – Law students

Leader of Concerned Law Students, Ken Addor Donkor, has insisted that Parliament should not engage in the “illegal” passage into law, a Legislative Instrument which is currently being considered at the August house.

Ken Addor Donkor believes passing the Legal Profession Regulations 2017 into law will give room to the General Legal Council (GLC) to deliberately frustrate potential law students.

The issue was a subject of a court case in 2015 but the Supreme Court held the requirement was “unconstitutional.” The ruling notwithstanding, GLC has taken the Regulation to Parliament to have it legalized, despite the apex court's ruling.

Addressing the press in Accra Tuesday, Mr. Donkor stressed, “We are only asking Parliament as a matter of urgency, of not to be allowed to be brought to that playing field where it will engage in illegality because the matters that we talking about has already been declared by the Supreme Court as illegal and unconstitutional.”

He observed that qualified students gaining admission to the Law School has nothing to do with interviews and examinations, but rather unavailability of space to absorb them, thus accusing the GLC of deliberately attempting to frustrate potential law students with the Regulation.

Registering their displeasure at the Press Centre January 30, members of the Association of Law Students and Concerned Law Students stated their intention to petition Parliament to vote against the regulation.

Mr Donkor, being confident of the independency of the Executive arm of government, was hopeful that the House will not be “brought into the mess” adding that “they (Parliament) was up to the task and they will do what is needful.”