The Ghana School of Law, as the name suggests, is the first official law school for Ghana. After the attainment of independence in 1957, the Government at the time decided to provide facilities for legal education in Ghana.
The Parliament enacted the Legal Practitioners Act of 1958 to achieve this goal. This Act created the General Legal Council and charged it with the responsibility for organizing 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 first meeting of the general Legal Council in the Supreme Court building was on the 3rd of September, 1958. Chaired by the first Ghanaian Chief Justice, His Lordship Sir Arku Korsah.
The Legal Practitioners Act of 1958 also created the Board of Legal Education and delegated the following functions to the Board of Legal Education:
The immediate administration and supervision of legal Education; The establishment of such courses of instruction as the Board might deem necessary or expedient; the conduct of examinations and the publication of examination results.
History
In December 1958, the Ghana School of Law was officially opened on temporary premises in the Supreme Court with 97 students. Those 97 students had been selected from about 600 students who were desirous of pursuing legal education in the then-young independent Ghana. Some of the 600 students failed the first-class examination, and others abandoned the course.
The students moved into the present premises when the building, as we see it now, was completed and a plaque was unveiled by the first President of the Republic of Ghana, the Late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, on 5th March 1959.
Interestingly, the over 600 students included some members of the 1958 Parliament, Civil Servants, School Teachers, and senior Employees of some Commercial establishments. Some of the 97 students abandoned the course midway, and happily, the first 9 students, some of whom have departed this life, were enrolled as LAWYERS on the 22nd of June, 1963.
They were:
- G. E. K. AIKINS
- D. M. AKOTIAH
- S. H. ANANCY
- A. K. BANNERMAN-WILLIAMS
- F. E. CREPPY
- J. K. ESSIEN
- W. E. OFFEI
- W. OSAFO-BUABENG
- P. K. SENAYAH
No human society is static or immutable, and unsurprisingly, over time, imbued with what no doubt was a strong desire to achieve excellence. Several amendments were made to various decisions and programs of the General Legal Council. This led, ultimately, to what became known as the Preliminary Law Course for non-law graduates and the Professional Law Course for Admittance to the Bar. The Ghana School of Law has, over the past 55 years, trained and produced Lawyers who today work as Magistrates, Judges, Solicitors, Senior Management Executives, and Legal Advisors in Public and Private Establishments.
The School is the only Professional Law training institution in Ghana and has undoubtedly contributed a great deal to the development of our Nation.
Courses Offered at the Ghana School Of Law
Today, the school runs the Professional Law Course on three campuses: Accra, Legon, and Kumasi. It also runs the following courses: Post Call Law Course, Commonwealth Legislative Drafting Course, Career Magistrate Training Course, and Legal System and Constitutional Law Course.
Location of the Ghana School of Law
It is strategically located between the Supreme Court Building and the Central Business District of Accra. This location makes it convenient for experienced judges and lawyers to assist in the training of lawyers, while at the same time, the School is not isolated from the heart of the socio-economic development of the country. Two satellite campuses were opened at KNUST, Kumasi, and the University of Ghana, Legon, at the beginning of the academic year 2010/2011.
Programs offered at the Ghana School of Law
Legal Education
Objectives of legal education. The main objectives of the School are: I. Training of suitable persons to become professional lawyers II. Pupilage of newly enrolled lawyers III. Provision of facilities to enable professional lawyers to specialize in various areas of law IV. Provision of continuing legal education for professional lawyers and paralegals
The School offers the following main programs:
PROFESSIONAL LAW COURSE(PLC)
This is designed for Bachelor of Laws graduates from the University of Ghana, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (Kumasi), and other universities approved by the Council. With effect from the October 2015/2016 academic year, the Professional Law Course will study the following compulsory subjects:
- » Office Practice and Legal Accountancy
- » Law of Evidence
- » Company and Commercial Practice
- » Criminal Procedure
- » Civil Procedure
- » Conveyancing and Drafting
- » Advocacy & Legal Ethics
- » Interpretation of Deeds and Statutes
- » Family Law and Practice
- » Alternative Dispute Resolution(ADR)
Successful candidates who pass the PLC are enrolled as barristers-at-law and Solicitors of the Supreme Court of Ghana. Candidates who fail a single paper are made to write the referred paper in November.
POST-CALL LAW COURSE
This course is designed for Ghanaians who have qualified in Common Law countries outside Ghana, which operate a legal system analogous to Ghana.
Post-Call students shall study the following subjects:
- » Criminal Procedure
- » Civil Procedure
- » Law of Evidence
- » Family Law & Practice
- » Law of Interpretation of Deeds and Statutes
- » Ghana Constitutional Law
- » Ghana Legal System
With effect from October 2013, the General Legal Council decided that the Course duration should be one academic year. Final examinations are held at the end of the Course, which begins in October and ends in June each year. Successful candidates are also enrolled as barristers-at-law and Solicitors of the Supreme Court.
GHANA LEGAL SYSTEMS COURSE & GHANA CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
This Course is for Ghanaians who have obtained the UK/External LLB Degree and LLB from foreign recognized universities or common law countries and want to study Professional Law Courses to qualify as Lawyers. It is a three-month program from April to June.
Entry Requirements For the Ghana School Of Law
To become a law student, you need to obtain, first, a degree (4-year duration). Any degree will do if it is awarded by a recognized institution. By “recognized”, I mean the institution must be recognized by the institutions which offer law degrees: UG, KNUST, GIMPA, Zenith, Mount Crest (there are a few private arrangements which lead to the ‘London Law Degree’, but I cannot speak about them).
After your first degree, you may gain entry into one of the above-named institutions to study for a law degree – the LLB (2-year duration). After obtaining the LLB (subject to certain conditions), you may qualify to enroll in the Ghana School of Law for the Professional Law Course (2-year duration).
