Africa-Press – Ghana. The proposed reforms are bold and timely. Realising their full potential – in an era of rapid technological change – will require broadening consultation to include legal education scholars and Clinical Legal Education specialists, alongside the practitioners and regulators already at the table.
It will also require careful attention to the composition and expertise of the new regulatory body, the qualifications framework for Law Deans, and the future of customary law in Ghanaian legal practice.
Ghana’s Legal Education Reform Bill 2025 represents the most significant proposed change to the country’s system of professional legal training since independence. That it has reached this stage reflects vision, political will, and genuine commitment to expanding access to legal education. The question now before policymakers, regulators and the legal academy is how to translate that vision into a reformed system that delivers on its promise – and equips Ghanaian lawyers for the realities of legal practice not only today but in the decades ahead.
A Bill of Real AmbitionThe Reform Bill proposes a fundamental restructuring of how professional legal training is delivered in Ghana. Most significantly, it contemplates Clinical Legal Education (CLE) as the principal methodology for professional legal instruction – a shift from the lecture-room, doctrine-centred model long used in the professional training stage. New training providers would be licensed, access to the Bar would be broadened, and the pipeline of lawyers entering the profession would be transformed.
These are bold and welcome proposals. As retired Chief Justice Georgina T. Wood observed at the KNUST Faculty of Law’s tenth anniversary, legal education must be made more practical and socially relevant, with students sensitised to the profession’s broader social obligations. The Reform Bill takes that aspiration seriously. The argument advanced here is not that the Bill is misguided – it is that its ambitions are significant enough to merit the broadest and deepest possible consultation before implementation.
The Council for Legal Education and Training: A Gap in Expertise?Section 1 of the Bill establishes the Council for Legal Education and Training (CLET) as the principal regulator of legal education in Ghana. Section 4 lists the composition of its governing body, including law teachers from universities holding at least the rank of Senior Lecturer. This is sound but insufficient.
Legal education scholarship – pedagogy, curriculum design, assessment frameworks and the study of how lawyers learn – is a specialised field. Being a doctrinal scholar or practitioner does not automatically confer competence in these areas. Yet the Bill contains no requirement that Council members appointed under sections 4(f) and 4(g) possess expertise in legal education.
This is important because the Bill proposes a competency-based structure spanning the undergraduate degree, Law Practice Training and the National Bar Examination. Designing and overseeing such a system requires expertise in pedagogy, curriculum architecture and assessment methodology.
The contrast with section 36(2)(i) – requiring Law Deans to possess wide expertise in legal education and pedagogy – is notable. If these qualities are indispensable for a Dean, they are equally vital for the regulator.
The Law Dean Question: Qualifications and AvailabilitySection 36 requires that a Law Dean possess expertise in legal education and pedagogy but appears to require Bar membership in Ghana. This may unintentionally exclude qualified academics from other common law jurisdictions.
This raises concerns about whether Ghana has enough senior academics, combining Bar membership with expertise, to fill the leadership needs of the reformed system.
The Silence on Customary LawCustomary law governs land, family relations, inheritance, chieftaincy and dispute resolution. Lawyers encounter customary law as a living system, not merely doctrine. Yet sections 47 and 60 are silent on this.
Legal education should develop competence in customary law practice through experiential learning, community engagement and instruction by those experienced in customary systems.
Training Lawyers for the Age of Artificial IntelligenceAI is already automating legal research, drafting and due diligence. Internationally, law schools are embedding AI literacy across core curricula.
Section 47(1)(d) acknowledges information technology but is insufficient without comprehensive AI literacy integrated across training.
Why Clinical Legal Education Requires Its Own ExpertiseCLE is effective but requires structured supervision, assessment and quality assurance. Section 60(3) assigns supervision to law schools, but this requires trained clinical supervisors.
The Kenyan Parallel: Decentralisation and Its DemandsKenya’s recent decentralisation experience highlights the need for strong curriculum standards, supervision frameworks and quality assurance in multi-provider systems.
Strengthening the Reform: Practical SuggestionsFirst, require Council members to have expertise in legal education.
Second, review the Dean qualification framework to widen the talent pool.
Third, integrate customary law as a practical competence.
Fourth, expand ICT training into full AI literacy.
Fifth, involve legal education scholars in consultations.
Ghana’s MomentThe Legal Education Reform Bill 2025 offers a historic opportunity. Ensuring rigorous implementation is essential for translating its bold vision into sustainable reform.
Edited by Beatrice Asamani Savage
The writer specialises in legal education and has taught at KNUST and Wisconsin International University College, Ghana. He formerly served as a Clinical Legal Education Instructor at both institutions. Email: [email protected]
