Two National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament (MPs) have proposed a private members’ bill to amend the Legal Professions Act, 1960, Act 32, to exclude the Chief Justice and other Justices of the Supreme Court from the General Legal Council.
The bill is expected to help redefine the functions of the GLC and to provide for reforms in legal education to allow accredited faculties of law with the requisite facilities to be licensed to run professional law courses, as well as provide for discipline of lawyers and related matters to give effect to Article 37(1) of the 1992 Constitution.
To that effect, the MPs – Mr Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor of South Dayi and Mr Francis-Xavier Sosu of Madina — have submitted a memorandum to the Clerk of Parliament, Mr Cyril Kwabena Nsiah, to request the Legislative Drafting Office to draft the “Draft Legal Professions (Amendment) Bill, 2021” for submission to the Speaker of Parliament.
In a letter dated October 26, 2021, the two MPs said: “Sir, we write to request the Legislative Drafting Office to draft for subsequent submission to the Speaker, a bill to amend the Legal Professions Act, 1960, Act 32, to exclude the Chief Justice as well as other Justices of the Supreme Court from the General Legal Council (GLC)”.
