History

HISTORY OF THE LEGAL EDUCATION &
THE GHANA SCHOOL OF LAW

On 31/3/1876, the Supreme Court Ordinance (No. 4) (hereinafter called the Act) was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to establish a Supreme Court for the entire Gold Coast colony (now Ghana) separate and distinct from the courts of other British possessions, acquired the force of law.

The Act undoubtedly contributed to the development and advancement of the Legal System already established in the Gold Coast and administered by the chiefs and their councilors as adjudicators. By extension, the Act has also played a crucial role in developing and shaping what is known today as the Common Law of Ghana.

The introduction of the English Legal System necessitated the urgency for training natives (as they were called at that time) in the knowledge of English Law and practice. This imperative led to many natives traveling to the United Kingdom to pursue legal education and training courses. Others of Gold Coast descent but residents in the United Kingdom also seized the opportunity to study law and acquired certificates that authorized them to practice law.

On 5/4/1877, James Neville Porter, a British citizen, became the first to be called to the Gold Coast Bar, and his name subsequently entered into the Roll of Lawyers. Porter was followed by two other British citizens, Charles Dennett Turton and Charles Forsythe, who were both called to the Gold Coast Bar sometime later in April 1877. Available records show that the first citizens of the Gold Coast to be called to the Gold Coast Bar on 17/4/1877 were:

  1. James Hutton Brew
  2. James Bannerman
  3. Edmund Bannerman
  4. George Emil Eminsang

Notably, many natives who received legal training in the United Kingdom to practice law in that Country from April 1877 to September 1884 were Solicitors and not Barristers. Therefore, it can be argued that though they were not called to the English Bar, they were lawyers in England. Thus, the first lawyer of Gold Coast descent called to the English Bar was John Mensah Sarbah. He was the first Gold Coast native to be called to the English Bar as a Barrister-at-Law. Accordingly, it is befitting that the overall best student of the Ghana School of Law is given an award named after this great son of the land.

Ghana, unlike the United Kingdom, does not have the distinction between a Solicitor and Barrister. In Ghana, all persons called to the Ghana Bar are entitled to engage in legal practice otherwise reserved for Solicitors who, under English law, inter alia, prepare briefs and hand them over to the Barrister to take to the court for adjudication. By 21/6/63, around 583 persons had been called to the Ghana Bar and had their names entered into the Roll of Lawyers in Ghana.

When Ghana gained independence in 1957, its first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, believed the former British colony needed an indigenous system to train lawyers. Although Nkrumah was not a lawyer, he had what B.J.da Rocha called “the wisdom and foresight to recognize the need for legal education in Ghana for Ghanaians.” In keeping with his vision, Dr. Nkrumah established the Ghana School of Law and provided it with facilities for legal education and training.

It is a matter of notorious public knowledge that when the idea of establishing a law school in Ghana was mooted, “it was greeted in some quarters with misgivings and even derision.” Some members of Ghanaian society, including lawyers, did not believe that anyone could become a proper lawyer without having a legal education in England. However, the founding fathers persevered by fashioning a legal and institutional framework toward the realization of this laudable dream.

Parliament then enacted the Legal Practitioners Act 1958, creating the General Legal Council and charging it with, among other things organization of legal education in Ghana. As a first step, the General Legal Council established the Ghana School of Law and mandated it to start professional legal training. The General Legal Council held its maiden meeting in the Supreme Court Building on 3rd September 1958, and the first Ghanaian Chief Justice, His Lordship Sir Arku Korsah chaired the meeting. The 1958 Act also created the Board of Legal Education.

The Board of Legal Education is charged with the following functions:

  1. The immediate administration and supervision of legal education;
  2. The establishment of such Courses of instruction as the Board might deem necessary or expedient;
  3. The conduct of examinations and the publication of examination results.

In December 1958, the Ghana School of Law opened at Makola in Accra, Ghana’s national capital. The name Makola literally means “I have come to fetch fire”. Some 600 personalities, including members of the 1958 Parliament of Ghana, civil servants, school teachers, and senior employees of some commercial establishments desirous of pursuing legal education in Ghana, failed the first examination designed to select the best persons for the course. Others abandoned the course later. In the end, only 97 students commenced their studies, which started temporarily within the Supreme Court building.

The students subsequently moved into the present campus of the Ghana School of Law at Makola after the buildings, as we see them now, were completed, and Dr. Nkrumah unveiled a plaque on 7th March 1959. Sadly, some of the 97 students also abandoned the Course midway. Happily, 9 out of 10 of the students were enrolled as the first locally trained Ghanaian lawyers on 22nd June 1963. They were:

  • E.K. Aikins
  • M. Akotiah
  • H. Anancy
  • K. Bannerman-Williams
  • E. Creepy
  • E. Essiem
  • E. Offei
  • Osafo-Buabeng
  • P.K. Senayah

It is said that the 10th person, Kwaku Baah Esq, was unable to be called to the Ghana Bar with his colleagues on that date because of some circumstances. During their call to the Bar, Dr. Nkrumah delivered a profound message to the new lawyers. He said in part:

“It is gratifying that the Ghana Law School has been able to produce its first nine qualified lawyers. The demand for the services of lawyers is great and varying. Our local authorities, our city and municipal councils, state corporations and enterprises, and the central government itself, will benefit greatly from the services of lawyers…

“Ghana will look to you to serve her with humility, honesty, integrity, and loyalty. We do not expect you to regard yourselves as a privileged class, engaged in a selfish scramble to acquire wealth and influence. We expect you to identify yourselves fully with the people and with their hopes and aspirations, and apply your knowledge and energies fully for their welfare and progress.

“You must not, in your profession, limit yourselves to the law courts only… [Y]ou must be ever ready to assist the ordinary men and women, the farmers, the workers, and the market women, in the towns and villages, in their everyday legal problems by providing sound advice, whenever they need it.”

Indeed, there is no gainsaying that the local and international track record of a substantial number of lawyers trained by the Ghana School of Law has been impressive. The School has, over the past 64 years, taught and ‘produced’ more than 6000 lawyers. A handful of the lawyers in Ghana obtained their training abroad. Indeed, most foreign-trained lawyers returning to practice in Ghana have to undergo Post Call training at the Ghana School of Law. Today, lawyers trained by the Ghana School of Law work as magistrates, judges, solicitors, politicians, senior management executives, and legal advisors in public and private establishments.

Figures show that over 8,000 lawyers have been called to the Ghana Bar since 1877. The number comprises about 5452 males and about 2,619 females as of June 2021. It is worthy of note that from 1877, only males were called to the Ghana Bar until Essi Matilda Forster shattered the glass ceiling on 15/4/47, becoming the first female to be enrolled as a newly trained Ghanaian lawyer. Since then, the percentage of males to females narrowed, but the males still dominated until October 2010, when 100 females, as against 95 males, were called to the Ghana Bar. Again, in October 2011, some 115 females, as against 91 males, were enrolled.