'Review legal literature to reflect current trends'

The President of the Greater Accra Regional branch of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Mrs Efua Ghartey, has called for a review of the country’s law literature to reflect the changes that have occurred in the legal industry globally.

According to her, a lot had changed in the legal profession and that efforts must be made to constantly review the systems and procedures which guided the industry in making informed decisions.

“Some aspects of our Ghanaian literature are in dire need of revision,” she noted, pointing out that “times have changed and we should be seen to be abreast of the times,” she noted.

Mrs Ghartey was speaking at the launch of a book titled: “Reading the law” at the British Council in Accra last Wednesday.

Citing the UK as an example, she said the recent telecast of proceedings at that country’s Supreme Court revealed judges not wearing wigs, even in the cold weather there, while judges in Ghana, in spite of the heat, still wore wigs in court.

“There is the need to ensure that we constantly review our systems, procedures and literature which guide us in making informed decisions,” she noted.
She said Ghana had come of age, in terms of its development, and needed to align its legal industry to the trends of modern times.

The book

“Reading the law”, which is organised in four parts, offers detailed information about Ghana’s legal education, guidance to studying law, how to answer law examination questions and sums up Ghana’s legal system and method, Law of Contract, Constitutional Law and Law of Torts.

Other topics include summary of the Criminal Law, Law of Immovable Property, Company Law based on the new Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992), introduction to Civil and Criminal procedures, Law of Evidence and Law of Interpretation and the explanation of some common legal terminologies.

Mrs Ghartey commended the author, Mr Benjamin Tachie Antiedu, and other contributors for the excellent piece of work they had produced to support the development of the country’s legal industry.

She said although the authors were relatively young at the Bar, they did not shy away from producing a world-class legal resource material that could be used by all manner of persons, including lawyers and non-lawyers.

Motivation

In his remarks, Mr Antiedu said the book was written with the sole purpose of simplifying the study of law in Ghana, adding that many students of law often grappled with many challenges in their quest to study law.

“The book offers readers complete guidance on how to study law in Ghana and is especially designed for LL.B and professional law students, other students whose programmes of study entail elements of law and persons contemplating studying law in Ghana,” he explained.

Commenting on legal education in the country, he expressed concern over the mass failure of students who wrote the entrance examination to the Ghana School of Law, saying “Ghana’s legal education is seriously challenged and needed to be looked at”.

He called for reforms in order to create more opportunities for people who desired to study professional law to have access to legal education, while mechanisms must be put in place to ensure quality and standardisation.

Endorsements

The book has so far received a lot of endorsements from seasoned lawyers and legal practitioners, including Nana Tawiah Okyir, a Law lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA); Madam Theresa Bosiako-Korang, Deputy Editor, Parliamentary Service of Ghana, and Eva Okyere, the Head of Litigation, Ghartey and Ghartey chambers.