Experts call for reforms to legal education amid AfCFTA
Speakers at an international conference on the future of legal education in Ghana and Africa are advocating for increment in funding for the development of legal education in the country.
Made up of law experts, the speakers called for the establishment of an advisory committee on legal education, in order to assist the various faculties in adapting legal education to improve quality and structure at the universities.
The experts also called for the increase of investments towards improving the quality and structure of legal education in tertiary institutions across the continent following the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
According to the speakers, the legal fraternity plays a critical and significant role in promoting the democratic values and respect for human rights and rule of law in the country.
They also acknowledged the significant role of legal education and services in the socio-economic growth of Ghana and Africa over the years.
According to one of the speakers, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, “the law has been deployed to direct socio-economic and political course of our lives”.
German Ambassador to Ghana, Daniel Krull, whose outfit through the GIZ supported the conference, assured that Germany believes in making legal services accessible and useful to the public and expressed his government’s excitement to be part of the conversation of legal reforms.
“This is considered to be really important in our system; we believe the legal education system should be as open as possible for all class of society regardless of their social background and family background,” he added.
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First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei Wusu, also present at the conference, also indicated that for Ghana to remain relevant to the continent, it must reform its legal education.
“Ghana wishes to continue playing a leading role on the African continent. We must think about the rollout each other will be playing in the transformation African Continent and the world. The practice of the law has changed significantly in recent years and we must also revolve in the way we train the lawyers of tomorrow.”
He added that, African legal practice is changing and Ghana must change with it.
“The teaching and learning of the law are beginning to be affected by the digital age, particularly in the wake of covid-19 which has highlighted the need for online platforms as means of instruction and interaction. “
The University of Ghana School of Law has commenced intense discussions on reforming legal education in Ghana under Africa particularly under the new agenda of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“It is impactful that our school of law here at Legon, continues to provide the best of legal education which prepares our students to compete favorably on the job market both locally and internationally,” said Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice Chancellor of the university.
