Without a free court, there can be no free people – Adomako Baafi warns

NPP communicator Adomako Baafi has stated that expanding legal education must go hand in hand with protecting judicial independence.

His comments follow President John Dramani Mahama’s assent to the Legal Education Reform Bill, which opens professional legal training to accredited universities and ends the Ghana School of Law monopoly.

While welcoming the reforms, Adomako Baafi argued that the legal profession depends heavily on public confidence in the judiciary.

“What is the essence of the law and the judiciary? The essence is to ensure that justice and fairness prevail,” he said.

He expressed concern about political attacks on the judiciary and warned against attempts to undermine the courts.

“When executive power reaches beyond its bounds to bend the judiciary to its will, justice ceases to be a principle and becomes performance,” he stated while quoting from one of his writings.

According to him, legal education reforms alone would not be enough if confidence in the courts continues to decline.

“The erosion of judicial independence is not merely a legal crisis. It is the quiet collapse of freedom,” he said.

Adomako Baafi also criticised political rhetoric surrounding the judiciary, arguing that governments must respect the courts regardless of political disagreements.

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