Ghana plans to create an independent body to consider complaints against lawyers
Ghana’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dominic Ayine, plans to submit to the Cabinet and subsequently to parliament a bill on a Legal Practitioners Standard Board. The body is proposed to be established by law as a structure independent of the government, with a separate mechanism for considering complaints against lawyers, MyJoyOnline reports.
Independent regulator
Ayine announced his intention to prepare the Legal Practitioners Standard Board Bill in a speech read on his behalf by Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem-Sai. The speech was delivered on September 14 at the Ghana Bar Association’s 2026/27 conference dedicated to 150 years of the country’s legal evolution.
According to Ayine, the bill is to provide for the creation of an independent body responsible for setting and maintaining standards of lawyers’ professional conduct and their continuing professional competence.
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Disciplinary procedures
An independent disciplinary committee, separate from licensing and standard-setting functions, is planned to be established within the board. It is to include representatives of the public, other professions, and the legal profession. Clear procedures for receiving, investigating, and considering complaints against lawyers will also be provided for.
The proposed system is intended to guarantee the rights of lawyers subject to disciplinary proceedings. In particular, they will have the right to know the nature of the allegations, to be fully heard, to receive proportionate sanctions, and to appeal decisions in court.
Ayine stressed that the reform is not intended to place disciplinary procedures under the government’s political control. According to him, the regulator’s independence is important because lawyers must be able to hold the authorities accountable. Before the document is submitted to parliament, it is planned to be widely discussed with the Ghana Bar Association, the General Legal Council, the Judicial Council, and other stakeholders.
