The Chief Justice, Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, has assured that Ghana’s legal profession will maintain its integrity following Parliament’s passage of the Legal Education Bill.

Speaking in Accra during the enrolment of 155 new lawyers to the Bar, a day after the bill was passed, he said the reforms are intended to expand access to legal education without compromising professional standards.

He acknowledged longstanding concerns over limited access to professional legal training and the pressure it has placed on the system, noting the challenge of balancing opportunity with quality.

According to him, the new law seeks to address this by allowing accredited universities to offer both academic and professional legal training, a role traditionally reserved for the Ghana School of Law.

To ensure consistency, he said a national bar examination will be introduced as a uniform standard for qualification. He added that the reform would reduce institutional bottlenecks and help clear the backlog of law graduates unable to proceed with professional training.

Mr Baffoe-Bonnie also emphasised that the changes would strengthen transparency and credibility through standardised assessments, stressing that while access will be widened, standards will remain firm.

He further advised the newly enrolled lawyers to uphold high ethical standards, cautioning that small compromises could undermine their professional integrity over time.

Meanwhile, sections of the public and prospective lawyers have welcomed the bill, describing it as a step toward improving access to legal education and addressing gaps in the legal sector.

Some noted that thousands of law graduates have struggled to gain admission into the Ghana School of Law, and expressed optimism that the reform would ease these constraints and broaden opportunities for aspiring lawyers.