Supreme Court paves way for Sosu to appeal General Legal Council suspension

The Supreme Court, presided over by a single Judge, Justice Yaw Appau has granted leave to embattled Human Rights lawyer, Francis Xavier Sosu to file an appeal against the punishment handed to him by the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council.

The judgment by the Apex court quashes an earlier judgment of the Appeal court that refused Sosu an application for stay of execution of the punishment, which prevents him from practicing law in Ghana.

The single judge in his ruling said it would be a great abuse of the fundamental Human Rights of the applicant if he is not given the opportunity to be heard at a higher forum other than the Disciplinary Committee over his three-year suspension.

The court thus proceeded to order the applicant to file his processes within the next seven days for the case to be heard by the Supreme Court.

The General Legal Council in June 2017 barred the prominent Human Rights lawyer from practising as a lawyer for one year after he was found guilty of professional misconduct.

It followed a complaint filed at the Council by one of his clients, Francis Agyare, who accused Mr. Sosu and his law firm F-X Law and Associates of attempting to swindle him.

The Council also reached a decision to ban the lawyer for another three years for advertising himself on social media in respect of cases involving Patrick Reynolds who was paralysed by a fallen billboard at flower pot and his human rights action against the Attorney General, Chief of Defence Staff and another.