The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, has revealed details of the sweeping reforms to Ghana’s legal education system, including the reduction of professional legal training from two years to one year.
Speaking at the opening of the Ghana Bar Association’s annual conference in Accra on Monday, September 15, 2025, Dr. Ayine revealed that a new Legal Education Bill will be submitted to Cabinet before the end of the month.
He said the Bill is designed to expand access to legal training, dismantle the monopoly of the Ghana School of Law, and ensure equality of opportunity for aspiring lawyers across the country.
Under the proposed reforms, law faculties at accredited universities will be empowered to provide professional legal education alongside the Ghana School of Law.
Graduates with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree will be required to undertake a one-year law practice course at their respective universities.
The course will focus solely on practical subjects, including civil procedure, criminal procedure, advocacy, legal ethics, and the law of evidence.
Assessment will be handled by a newly established National Bar Examination Council, which will administer standardised bar exams across the country.
Dr. Ayine explained that this would streamline the training process and reduce the overall duration of legal education from five years to four.
While the Ghana School of Law will lose its exclusive role, it will continue to function as part of a transitional arrangement.
The institution will train current students and accommodate qualified lawyers from other common law jurisdictions who wish to practice in Ghana.
By 2027, when the current cohort of students completes their training, the Ghana School of Law will adopt the new one-year law practice syllabus to prepare candidates for the national bar examinations.
Dr. Ayine emphasised that the reforms mark a fundamental shift in Ghana’s legal education landscape, aimed at addressing longstanding concerns about accessibility and fairness.
