.As AG Prepares to LayLegal Practitioners Standard Board Proposal to Parliament
By Philip Antoh
The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, has announced plans to introduce the Legal Practitioners Standard Board Bill to Parliament. The proposed legislation aims to instill discipline within the legal profession, streamline the activities of lawyers, and ensure they are held accountable for their services.
The announcement was made on behalf of Dr. Ayine by the Deputy Attorney-General, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, during the Ghana Bar Association Conference 2026/27 on September 14.
The conference was held under the theme “150 Years of Ghana’s Legal Evolution: Transforming the Profession and Driving its Future with Industry.”
Speaking to the gathered legal professionals, Dr. Ayine drew on his extensive experience as a private practitioner, law teacher, lawmaker, and Attorney-General to highlight the need for a fresh perspective on the profession’s relationship with the state.
“It is against this background that I wish to announce formally before this conference my decision to bring before Cabinet and, in due course, before Parliament, the Legal Practitioners Standard Board Bill. The bill will do three things,” Dr. Ayine stated.
He outlined that the bill seeks to establish the Legal Practitioners Standard Board as an independent statutory body.
Its primary mandate will be to set and maintain standards of professional conduct and ensure the continuing competence of legal practitioners.
Additionally, the legislation will create an independent disciplinary committee within the board, distinct from its licensing and standard-setting functions.
This committee will include lay persons, representatives from other professions, and members of the Bar. It will implement clear procedures for receiving, investigating, and determining complaints against lawyers.
Dr. Ayine emphasized that the proposed framework is designed to protect the rights of lawyers during disciplinary proceedings.
These rights include the right to know the case against them, to be fully heard, to receive proportionate sanctions, and to appeal to the courts.
“That way no lawyer in our beloved country need ever fear that the disciplinary process can be turned into an instrument of harassment by clients, a competitor or the Bench or indeed by the government,” he assured.
Addressing potential concerns, the Attorney-General stressed that the reforms are not intended to grant the government control over the disciplinary process.
“This reform is not an attempt by the government to bring the disciplinary proceedings of lawyers under political control,” he explained.
“It is quite the opposite. It is to extricate the disciplinary procedures from government control and make the Ghana Bar Association and the Bar the owners of this process.”
Dr. Ayine noted that the independence of the proposed regulatory body is vital, as lawyers must be free to hold the government accountable.
“It is only this kind of regulator that we believe can credibly discipline the profession whose members must from time to time stand up to the government of the day,” he concluded.
Before the bill is presented to Parliament, it will undergo extensive consultation with the Ghana Bar Association, the General Legal Council, the Judicial Council, and other relevant stakeholders.