The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, has charged members of the Ghana Law Society and all lawyers’ associations in the country not to allow themselves to become appendages of any political
He said the moment any lawyers’ association allows itself to be captured by partisan politics, it forfeits the very authority that makes its advocacy worth hearing.
Dr. Ayine was speaking at the
maiden Annual Conference of the Ghana Law Society in Accra on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, on the theme: “Legal Reforms – the Place of the Ghanaian Lawyer.”
“Bar That Flips With Political Weather”
Referencing his address to the Ghana Bar Association at Ada two weeks ago, the Attorney-General reiterated that the Bar is the guardian of the Constitution, the friend of the court, and the conscience of the Republic.
“What our profession needs is not a Bar that flips with the political weather but a Bar that is consistent, whichever party sits in government,” he said.
“It does not matter whether an association is decades old or, like the Ghana Law Society, newly building its institutional voice.
The moment any of you allows itself to become the appendage of a political party, whichever party that may be, you forfeit the very authority that makes your advocacy worth hearing.”
He however stressed that independence is a two-way bargain, saying the State must create the conditions, institutional protection and restraint from interference that allow the legal profession to govern itself
“As Attorney-General, I do not want a Bar, or a Law Society, that agrees with everything my office does. What I want is a profession that is visible and present in public discourse, that speaks its mind from a footing no party can claim to own,” he added.
Law Reform as Social Engineering:
On the theme of the conference, Dr. Ayine said Government since the assumption of office of President John Dramani Mahama has set in motion wide-ranging legal reforms, beginning with the review of the 1992 Constitution to make it a more welfare-enhancing document.
He urged the Ghana Law Society to take keen interest in the technical stages of constitutional amendment bills, noting that lawyers play a preeminent role in law reform.
Borrowing from American jurist Roscoe Pound, the AG described law reform as social engineering – an instrument for satisfying competing claims in society.
“A law left unreformed is not a law that changes nothing; it is a choice, renewed every day it stays on the books, about whose interests continue to be served and whose interests continue to be denied,” he said.
He cited the need for lawyers to get involved in legislative drafting, reform of laws governing state contracts and procurement, public financial management and enforcement of the Public Financial Management Act, and the ongoing Legal Practitioners Standards Board Bill, where he said input should reflect the experience of young lawyers in Techiman and sole practitioners in Wa, not just senior members.
“The place of the Ghanaian lawyer, in this season of reform, is to be independent enough to be believed and engaged enough to
matter,” the AG concluded, pledging his office’s commitment to work with the Society beyond the conference table in the drafting rooms and committee tables.
