According to the Association, judges within the country deserve more than they currently receive as conditions of service.

The association in recent times has been complaining about the lack of accommodation and proper residential facilities.

[contextly_sidebar id=”rvPzQoF3oZYSYeUeWvgJovjYDwTP0jOK”]Speaking at the 35th Anniversary of the murder of three high court judges in Ghana, President of the BAR, Benson Nutsukpui, said more has to be done to ensure a resilient democracy underpinned by the tenets of the Rule of law.

“As we celebrate our departed judges, as members of the legal community, it is necessary that we recommit ourselves to the entrenchment of the rule of law in our country. It cannot be sustained when the conditions of service and the working conditions of judges are nothing to write home about. Judicial independence is best secured by good conditions of service of our judges which in turn assures resilient democracies underpinned by the tenants of the rule of law,” he added.

Lower court judges threaten strike over small salaries

In June 2016, lower court judges issued a stern warning to government to immediately abandon a planned move to revise their conditions of service.

The judges, who work in the magistrate and circuit courts across the country, said they were being short-changed in a proposal presented for a review of their salaries.

One of the judges, His Honor Aboagye Tandor, had earlier said they were going to advise themselves if nothing was done about their concerns.

The lower court judges later in November 2016 threatened to embark on a strike if government fails to increase their salaries by 10 percent.

In the letter, the lower court judges lamented that several efforts in having the issue resolved including writing a letter to the Ministry of Finance have proved futile.

The judges are believed to receive very low salaries, some far below GHS4, 000 a month.

–

By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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At one of the group sessions, the issue of lawyer advertising came up. I argued forcefully against the current rules that prohibit advertising and described them as colonial relics that have become shorn of their relevance.

The other participants applauded me “to the very echo.”

The then President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), who chaired the session, disagreed with me.

Those rules together with a few other undesirable ones continue to sit pretty on our statute books.

England

The practice of law in England with its Greco-Roman influences, rules, conventions and practices dates as far back as the 12^th Century.  At some point the advocates were clergymen until the Church banned them in 1207. At that time and many years later notions of public service and nobility were the crowning glory of the advocate.

As far back as 1340, England separated barristers from solicitors. In simple terms, the barristers went to court and the solicitors were their clients. The solicitors on the other hand were the ones that interfaced with the outside world.

It is said that only nobles with marquee surnames and means practiced as barristers and solicitors. They did not advertise their noble profession. In that era, touting and advertising one’s “trade” was deemed befitting for only those on the lower parts of the ladder of social standing.

Through changing vistas, the Law Society emerged in 1825 to regulate the law profession, causing the Society of Gentleman of 1793 and all other such bodies to pale into oblivion.

In 1970, restrictions against advertising started experiencing a subtle pushback and this intensified in 1978. This culminated in the Law Society’s decision starting from 1^st October 1984 to permit solicitors in England and Wales to advertise in newspapers, on radio and at their premises. Currently, barristers are also “permitted to advertise in any way that is consistent with the British Codes of Advertising and Sales Promotion”.

The United States of America

Having been colonized by the British, the Americans quite naturally embraced the rule against advertising. They also adopted the distinction between solicitors and barristers but only for a relatively short period of time. Indeed many Americans who wanted to become lawyers at the time actually studied in England and returned with the imbibed culture.

The American Revolution however marked the beginning of the rebellion against strict British tendencies but did not immediately lead to a removal of the restrictions on advertising by lawyers.

It all changed when two young men, John Bates and Van O’Steen set up a legal clinic in the State of Arizona in 1974. Two years later, as their practice began to fall on hard times, they advertised their practice and its relatively low rates in “The Arizona Republic” newspaper, against the rules of the Arizona State Bar.

The disciplinary committee of the State Bar recommended a six-month suspension each for the young lawyers. The young men sought refuge in the Arizona Supreme Court but lost. They proceeded to the United States (US) Supreme Court itself, where the Court relying on its earlier decision affecting pharmacists, ruled that the lawyers had a 1^st Amendment right to advertise their service. The court relied on “the commercial speech doctrine”. That was in 1977.

The US Supreme Court expanded its decision in 1982 in the case of In re R.M.J. This led to changes in the American Bar Association (ABA) rules.

Kenya

In 2012, in the case of Okeyo Omwanza George & Anor vs. Attorney-General & 2 Others, a newly admitted lawyer convinced Justice David Majanja to declare among others that the rule prohibiting Kenyan lawyers from advertising was unconstitutional.

In 2014, the Law Society of Kenya approved rules to enable lawyers to advertise.

Ghana

Being a former British colony, Ghana at independence in 1957, had all the trappings of the strict rules preventing advertising by lawyers.

However, Ghana never adopted the British distinction between barristers and solicitors. In Ghana, a lawyer is both a barrister and a solicitor at the same time. However, as of 2017, Ghanaian lawyers do not enjoy the right of advertising that barristers and solicitors in England & Wales currently enjoy.

The Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rules, 1969, LI 613 forbids a practicing Ghanaian lawyer from advertising whether directly or indirectly except that they may have their names on name plates and stationery.

Analysis of the Ghanaian Situation

As students of Advocacy and Legal Ethics at the Ghana School of Law, we were taught that it is the quality of your work that will sell you. We were told that satisfied clients will tell others about you and bring you repeat business.  We were taught that touting and advertising would debase our noble profession.

What that viewpoint does is to force all lawyers to scramble for space under the wings of old and established law firms for as long as they can endure it. It cements the hold of these few names and denies newer and smaller firms the opportunity to compete and to grow.

It also creates social cost in the sense that clients are denied critical information about which lawyers are in the competitive space and with what levels of expertise and at what competitive price. In the end most of the legal work ends up going to a small group of law firms who in a sense become a composite monopoly and become placed wittingly or unwittingly in a rent-seeking posture.  They dictate the terms and pricing of the market defend the rules that protect their interest and cause deadweight loss by eliminating those who cannot afford their rates. The younger generation is forced to wait for its turn and the cycle continues.

If a lawyer has expertise in energy law, corporate finance, mergers and acquisition or any other area of law, she is not allowed to announce it to a client seeking that expertise. For that matter, the client is likely to end up at a law firm whose name is synonymous with law in general but not necessarily the expertise required.

The claim that your work will sell you also assumes that all work is done in a courtroom and in the open. It is a faulty way to look at the law in this day and age.

Meanwhile, foreign law firms who are not regulated locally find ingenious ways including writing letters and directing clients to their websites (advertising). They enter the local market and take the choice legal jobs, make a lot of money, keep their skills updated as a result and still fall on the established old law firms for local assistance when required.

Today, law practice is not limited to the noble and wealthy class. It is as much a business as any other. It requires investment, sacrifice and the payment of taxes. It is subject to nearly the same innovations demanded by the efficient market.

We must remove the shackles of these rules against advertising and doing business generally for lawyers to enable our country to reap the full benefits of this potentially viable area of our national life. After all, competition breeds excellence.

–

By: Robert Nii Arday Clegg

The writer is a practising lawyer in Ghana

The post The lawyer and the rule against advertising [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Association says the act is an affront to the country’s democracy and must not be tolerated.

The deceased, Captain Maxwell Mahama, was attacked by some town-folks who claim it was because they suspected the soldier, who was in civilian clothing and armed, of being an armed robber.

[contextly_sidebar id=”BZKjL3jZ20PFM7AvtsLT2EtyuDd7MmMg”]In a statement copied to citifmonline.com, the Association said the culprits in the matter must be dealt with according to law to serve as a deterrent to others.

While calling on the military to exercise restraint and avoid retaliation, the GBA urged the police and security agencies investigating the matter to speed up the process.

The Ghana Bar Association also expressed regret over a recent violent protest carried out by some residents in Somanya, that resulted in the vandalism of a police station and the setting on fire a police vehicle.

It charged the various security agencies in the country to demonstrate good leadership in responding appropriately to all incidents of violence stemming from a growing incident of lawlessness to guarantee the peace and security of citizens.

Read the full statement below:

GHANA BAR ASSOCIATION’S STATEMENT CONDEMNING THE KILLING OF CAPTAIN MAXWELL ADAM MAHAMA AND OTHER ISSUES OF LAWLESSNESS

The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has heard with shock the tragic and horrific killing of Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), by a mob at Diaso in the Upper Denkyira West District of the Central Region.

The GBA wishes to commiserate with the bereaved family and GAF and hereby expresses its deepest condolences to his family, colleagues and friends. It is the prayer of GBA that the Almighty God will comfort them and grant them peace.

The Bar finds mob actions purportedly exercised to punish suspected or alleged offenders very unacceptable and an affront to the rule of law under the Fourth Republican Constitution of Ghana. They have grave consequences, and are serious threats to our democracy.

The GBA therefore calls upon the security and law enforcement agencies to investigate the matter thoroughly and ensure that the culprits are brought to justice to serve as a deterrent to other like-minded persons.

In the interim, we urge all concerned to exercise restraint, not to take the law into their own hands or engage in any acts of retribution.

The GBA also condemns the actions of the persons who rioted in Somanya, in the Eastern Region and in the process destroyed state properties and would reiterate its call for the offenders to be arrested, charged and prosecuted.

The GBA notes with serious concern the general lawlessness prevailing and urges the security agencies to respond appropriately to ensure that the rule of law, peace and security of our country are guarded jealously at all times.

ISSUED IN ACCRA, THIS 30TH DAY OF MAY 2017

BENSON NUTSUKPUI

NATIONAL PRESIDENT

JUSTIN A. AMENUVOR

NATIONAL SECRETARY

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Capt. Mahama’s murder threatens Ghana’s democracy – GBA appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the Association, the Inspector General of Police must thoroughly investigate the matter and bring the culprits to book.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Kze3HnGp2vOJBXMEAxmk3tZ3yGiTBSvg”]Some members of the group stormed the Kumasi Circuit Court on Thursday [April, 6]  and freed 13 members of their group who were facing charges for causing disturbances at the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council.

The group vandalized some court property, and almost assaulted the Judge, Mary Senkyere. The judge had ruled that they be remanded to reappear before the court on the 20th of April, 2017 after charges of conspiracy to assault a public officer and causing unlawful damage.

But according to a statement by the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), the act was a threat to the country’s Judiciary and must not be tolerated.

“The Ghana Bar Association is shocked and horrified at the news item and video recordings which have gone viral alleging that members of supposed “Delta Force” have attacked the Circuit Court in Kumasi earlier today after the Circuit Court presided over by Her Honour Mary Senkyere hard reportedly ordered the thirteen (13) persons who were charged with the offence on conspiracy to commit crime, assault on a public officer, causing unlawful damage and preventing a public officer from doing his lawful duty, to be remanded in custody to and re-appear on the 20^th of April, 2017.”

“It is sickening and horrifying to watch the said videos of persons using violence as a means to defy the Court’s orders. The GBA condemns in no uncertain terms this blatant disregard for the orders of a duly constituted court of law and attack on the judge in the discharge of her lawful duties. This is an affront to the independence of the Judiciary and an attack on the rule of law,” the statement said.

It added that “such glorification of violence, dastardly acts and threat to our Judiciary cannot be tolerated or allowed under our democratic dispensation. It is totally unacceptable under whatever presence to disobey orders of the court, attack or threatens to attack the person of the judge thereby endangering the peace of our country.”

The statement noted that, the incident appeared to be creating room for anarchy, chaos and lawlessness which must not be condoned.

The Ghana Bar Association, however, called on the Inspector General of Police to immediately re-arrest the 13 suspects who were freed, and be remanded in custody while a thorough investigation is launched into the incident.

“We also call on the Minister of Interior to as a matter of urgency take steps to ensure the immediate disbandment of the “Delta Force” and all other vigilante groups that have sprung up in our country.

“We call in well-meaning Ghanaians to condemn this resort to violence in flagrant disobedience to court orders,” the statement signed by GBA President Benson Nutsukpui and National secretary Justin Amenuvor  further noted.

In a related development, the Minister of the Interior, Ambrose Derry, has given a strong indication that, members of the vigilante group will be arrested and brought to book.

He said other security agencies will be engaged if necessary, to clamp down on the group and ensure that justice prevails.

Speaking at an emergency press conference in Accra, Ambrose Derry warned the perpetrators that it will be in their interest to resubmit themselves to the police.

Eight Delta Force members arrested

Meanwhile, Eight members of perpetrators have been arrested by the Police. The Ashanti Regional Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Yaw Nketiah-Yeboah said the eight were arrested around the Asafo overhead close to the Prempeh Assembly Hall in the capital, Kumasi.

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The compact agreement makes signatories to publicly express their abhorrence to judicial corruption while pledging their loyalty to the principles of professional integrity and ethical conduct in their various careers.

The Judicial anti-corruption compact agreement, an initiative of the International Bar Association, has been developed to mobilise stakeholders in the global effort to eradicate judicial corruption. Ghana is the first African Country to publicly commit to the compact.

Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, the Chief Justice signed for the Judiciary, while Mr Justice Victor Ofoe signed for the Association of Magistrates and Judges. Mr Benson Nutsukpi, President of the Ghana Bar Association signed for members of the bar.

Addressing the ceremony, Mrs Wood said the signing of the agreement was significant in the annals of stakeholders in justice administration in Ghana noting that 2015 marked the darkest spots in the history of the judiciary in the country.

According to her, the judiciary was rocked with bribery and corruption scandals involving Judges and Magistrates, confirming the reality of the perception that corruption was rife in the justice delivery.

She said the incident nonetheless served as “a timely reminder” of the enormous task that the judiciary faced as an institution.

Mrs Wood stressed the need to sensitise and inculcate a culture of strict adherence to the highest standards of ethical professional conduct at the formative stages of the legal career.

“Such a move, we believe, will go a long way to ensuring that integrity and forthrightness will become institutionalised within the legal profession in general and the judiciary in particular.”

The Chief Justice noted that the compact agreement reiterated the fundamental standards and principles that ran through Ghana’s Judiciary Code of Conduct.

She therefore urged stakeholders to abide by the dictates of the Code of Conduct and the compact in ensuring effective delivery of justice.

The Chief Justice described corruption as “misuse of public power for private gain” and said the scourge “encompasses the lack of integrity or propriety”.

According to her, the incidence of corruption and its retrogressive impact on the developmental effort in developing economies could not be underestimated.

She said judges played a critical role in the nation’s fight against corruption, adding that judges and lawyers were naturally expected to be carriers of impeccable integrity and wholesome conduct.

Mrs Wood said, for instance, in the appointment of judges, academic and professional excellence and intellectual capability should not be underrated.

“I am of the conviction that integrity, moral purity and ethical values must take centre stage.”

According to her an incorruptible judiciary was a nation’s most priced asset but “a corrupt judge is the greatest danger to society”.

“No nation can therefore win the fight against corruption within the body polity with an array of corrupt judges, court staff and lawyers.”

Mrs Wood said thus the message that corruption was a most unrewarding pursuit must sound the loudest from the courtrooms through the upright conduct of justice bearers.

She therefore commended Mr David Rivikin, President of the International Bar Association for taking the bold initiatives to fight corruption.

Mr Rivikin said fighting judicial corruption meant that all other forms of corruption could be eliminated.

Mr Nutsukpi said the GBA’s signing of the compact was an indication that its members ascribe to the ideals of the compact.

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Source: GNA

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