A group of law degree holders calling themselves Concerned LLB Graduates have called on the General Legal Council to facilitate automatic admissions into the Ghana Law School by scraping this year’s entrance exams slated for July 14, 2017.
According to the group made up of LLB graduates from different law faculties in the country, the exams will amount to an illegality after the Supreme Court judgment on the matter.
Briefing the media on the petition, spokesperson for the group Naomi Nana Sam said they can’t be deprived of their legitimate right through an illegal process.
“We hereby petition the General Legal Council for a pronouncement on an indication regarding the decision already referred to, to grant us automatic admission into the Ghana School of Law. That your humble petitioners feeling aggrieved by some pronouncement of the Supreme Court in the Asare case thus seek the intervention of the General Legal Council as to the way forward.”
“We make an order in terms of relief one of the writs of summons that the General Legal Council’s imposition of an entrance examination and an interview requirement for the professional law course violates Articles 11(7), 297 (d), 23, 296(a) and (b) of the 1992 constituency,” Naomi added.
The Supreme Court on Thursday declared as unconstitutional the requirement by the General Legal Council asking applicants to the Ghana Law School to undertake an examination and subsequent interview before admission.
According to the court, in a case brought before it by Professor Kwaku Asare, a United States-based Ghanaian lawyer, in 2015, the requirements were in violation of the Legislative Instrument 1296 which gives direction for the mode of admission.
The Concerned LLB Graduates have also vowed to go to court if their petition is ignored.
A member of the petitioners, Godfred Tessu said “we know that the constitution is supreme and as such, just as the Supreme Court has indicated that the exams and the interview are unconstitutional.”
“I believe that all the stakeholders are aware that we cannot go against the constitution per article 1(2) of the constitution. Anything that is not in agreement with the constitution is void from start. Notwithstanding that, we believe that there are other avenues that are open to us by going to court and asking for a review and also placing an injunction on the exams. That is also our constitutional right that we can pursue,” he added.
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By: Godwin A. Allotey & Anas Seidu/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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