Parliament passes legal education reform bill,ends Ghana School of law monopoly

Parliament has passed the Legal Education Reform Bill, 2025, a landmark legislation that overhauls the structure of professional legal training in Ghana by ending the Ghana School of Law’s long-standing monopoly.

The new law establishes the Council for Legal Education and Training, which will be responsible for regulating professional legal education, setting curricula, and accrediting universities—including private institutions—to offer professional law programmes.

A key feature of the reform is the introduction of a mandatory Law Practice Training Course, which candidates must complete before sitting for a new, standardized National Bar Examination. The course will focus on clinical legal education and practical lawyering skills.

Presenting the bill earlier this year, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, stated the reforms were designed to promote equality of opportunity, as mandated by Article 25 of the Constitution. He noted the previous system, dominated by a highly competitive entrance examination, had created bottlenecks that prevented even first-class graduates from gaining admission to the bar.

Following the passage, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga hailed the bill as the fulfillment of a key National Democratic Congress (NDC) campaign promise. “We believe that this is the dawn of a new era where all students will be fairly treated,” he said. “Whichever law school you go to… we will all end up at the same place and it is there that lawyers will be determined.”

While the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, acknowledged the bill’s passage as a success for the government, he used the opportunity to criticize the administration for failing to deliver on other campaign pledges, citing concerns over sole-sourcing contracts.