Ghana Legal News-279 new lawyers were on Friday called to the Bar after undergoing a year’s law programme at the Ghana School of Law.
The induction ceremony for the new lawyers was held at the Accra International Conference Centre.
The Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo at the induction ceremony entreated the new lawyers to uphold the right values of the profession.
She told them always to be loyal prioritize integrity in all their endeavors since they have now become an asset to both their families and society.
“Integrity and good character are of paramount importance in the legal profession. These are qualities cannot be counted, and yet they are of the greatest importance. Stated differently, a lawyer should not be distinguished by his or her wig and gown but rather by his or her ethical conduct, language, etiquette, knowledgeability, professionalism, etc. A lawyers manners in speech and action as well as in their sartorial habits should stand them in good stead as a person of noble character,” she added.
Re-mark scripts, scrap Exams Board
The Students’ Representative Council (SRC) of the Ghana School of Law in February 2018 called for the examination scripts of the Ghana Law School students to be re-marked following a revelation that over 80% of persons who wrote the May 2017 exams failed.
The SRC had earlier called for the school’s Independent Examinations Board, which conducted the exams and was responsible for the marking of the scripts, to be scrapped, describing it as a threat to legal education in Ghana, after only 91 of the over 500 students passed the exams.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, the President of the school’s SRC at the time, Sammy Gyamfi, said the results did not accurately reflect the performance of the students who sat for the exams.
He stated that to ensure the integrity of the exams and the results which were released, the scripts have to be re-marked by “a credible and independent body.”
“Clearly this is a sad day for professional legal education for Ghana. The published results are very dispiriting and discouraging, very disappointing and clearly unacceptable. The results as we have now don’t reflect the true performance of the students. We can’t vouch for the integrity of these results, the integrity of the results is questionable,” he said.
Law school leaked exams
The General Legal Counsel also came under intense pressure earlier in 2018 following entrance exams it was organizing for potential law graduates for the Ghana School of Law.
Some of the graduates seeking admission argued that the entrance exams should be scrapped the General Legal Counsel think otherwise.
The Supreme Court in July 20118 dismissed an injunction application that sought to restrain the General Legal Council from organizing entrance exams scheduled for Friday, 27th July 2018.
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