Parliament has adopted the report of the Constitution and Legal Affairs Committee, paving the way for far-reaching reforms designed to widen access to legal education and reinforce professional training for lawyers in Ghana.
The approval follows the formal laying of the Legal Education Reform Bill by the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General, Dominic Ayine, on 24 October 2025. The Bill seeks to dismantle the long-standing monopoly of the Ghana School of Law, which has historically been the sole institution mandated to provide professional legal training in the country.
Moving the motion, Mr Ayine noted that the proposed reforms are intended to build a more inclusive, dynamic, and responsive legal education framework, while firmly safeguarding the high professional standards expected of Ghana’s legal practitioners.
Contributing to the debate, the Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, explained that the Bill provides for the establishment of a National Council for Legal Education. The Council will be tasked with accrediting university law faculties and overseeing a national bar examination, which will serve as a standardized and uniform gateway into the legal profession.
Mr Ayariga stressed that the reforms are aimed at ensuring fairness and equal opportunity for aspiring lawyers across the country, regardless of their institution of study. He added that a centralized bar examination would promote transparency and meritocracy within the profession.
While the proposed expansion of legal training institutions received strong bipartisan support, Members of Parliament cautioned that growth must not come at the expense of quality. Lawmakers therefore called for robust regulatory and supervisory mechanisms to preserve the integrity, discipline, and excellence of Ghana’s legal profession.