Ghana plans independent board to handle complaints against lawyers

Ghana’s Attorney-General, Dr Dominic Ayine, has announced plans for an independent statutory board to oversee professional standards and complaints against lawyers.

The proposed Legal Practitioners Standard Board would have a disciplinary committee separate from its licensing and standard-setting functions. Dr Ayine said the aim was to protect both the public’s ability to raise complaints and lawyers’ right to a fair process.

The proposal is not yet law. Dr Ayine said he intends to take a bill to Cabinet before presenting it to Parliament, following consultations with legal institutions and other stakeholders.

His announcement was made in a speech read on his behalf by Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai at the Ghana Bar Association conference on September 14.

Under the proposed framework, the disciplinary committee would include members of the Bar, people from other professions and lay members. It would have procedures for receiving, investigating and deciding complaints against lawyers.

Dr Ayine said lawyers facing complaints would have the right to know the case against them, be heard, receive proportionate sanctions and appeal to the courts.

He also sought to address concerns about political interference, saying the reform was “not an attempt by the government to bring the disciplinary proceedings of lawyers under political control”.

“It is quite the opposite,” he said, arguing that an independent regulator was necessary for a profession whose members must sometimes challenge the government.

Dr Ayine said the Ghana Bar Association, the General Legal Council, the Judicial Council and other stakeholders would be consulted before the bill goes to Parliament. The supplied account does not give a timetable for Cabinet consideration or set out how members of the proposed board would be appointed.