Attorney-General to Introduce Legal Practitioners’ Standards Board Bill

• The Deputy Attorney-General announced plans to introduce a Legal Practitioners' Standards Board Bill at the Ghana Bar Association's 2026 Annual Conference in Ada
• Dr Justice Srem-Sai said complaints against lawyers currently take years to resolve, citing concerns over fairness in the existing disciplinary system
• The proposed legislation would establish an independent disciplinary committee with lay persons, clear timelines, and due-process protections for lawyers

Ghana's government is moving to overhaul how lawyers are regulated, with the Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, announcing plans to introduce a Legal Practitioners' Standards Board Bill.

Dr Srem-Sai announced on September 14, 2026, at the opening of the Ghana Bar Association's (GBA) Annual Conference in Ada.

The conference, held under the theme "150 Years of Ghana's Legal Evolution: Transforming the Profession and Driving its Future with Industry," drew legal practitioners and stakeholders to reflect on the profession's past and chart its future.

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Why Ghana needs a new standards board

The Deputy Attorney-General pointed to persistent delays in resolving complaints against lawyers as a key problem the proposed legislation seeks to fix.

According to Dr Srem-Sai, such matters often drag on for years, leaving both complainants and the lawyers under scrutiny in prolonged uncertainty.

"Complaints against lawyers take several years to be resolved to the frustration of both the complainants and the lawyers complained about," he said.

He added that the current framework fails to adequately separate the investigation of complaints from their adjudication, raising questions about the integrity and impartiality of the process.

The Facebook post below provides more details about the Attorney-General’s plan to establish a new board.

What the proposed legislation would do

Under the new bill, an independent statutory body would be created to set and maintain professional conduct and competence standards for legal practitioners.

Alongside this Standards Board, a separate disciplinary committee would handle complaint adjudication independently from the board's licensing and standard-setting functions.

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The disciplinary committee would include lay members, representatives from other professions, and members of the Ghanaian Bar.

Members would enjoy security of tenure and operate within defined, time-bound procedures to ensure complaints are handled promptly. Lawyers would also be guaranteed due-process protections, covering the right to know allegations made against them, an opportunity to be heard, proportionate sanctions, and the right to appeal to the courts.

Responding to concerns that the reforms could expose the disciplinary process to political interference, Dr Srem-Sai was direct in his rebuttal.

"This reform is not an attempt by the government to bring the disciplinary proceedings of lawyers under political control. It is quite the opposite," he said, stressing that the objective is to reduce government involvement and return greater ownership of the disciplinary system to the legal profession itself.

Before the bill is presented to Parliament, Dr Srem-Sai confirmed that wide-ranging consultations would take place with the Ghana Bar Association, the General Legal Council, the Judicial Council, and other relevant stakeholders.

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Former NAFCO boss arrested at Accra Airport

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported earlier that law enforcement officers arrested the former Chief Executive Officer of the National Food Buffer Stock Company, Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba, at the Accra International Airport.

The former NAFCO boss was previously granted permission by the High Court to travel to the United Kingdom for a short stay while standing trial.

The Deputy Attorney General indicated that the arrest followed an alleged attempt by the accused to use fraudulent means to access funds from his frozen Republic Bank account.

Source: YEN.com.gh