<<Print>>

Private legal practitioner Professor Kwaku Asare has indicated that the Supreme Court of Ghana has asked the general public to breach its own judgment declaring that writing entrance exams into the Ghana Law School is an unconstitutional act.

The apex court on Thursday June 22 ruled that it is unconstitutional for the General Legal Council (GLC) to ask applicants to the Ghana Law School to write an entrance examination and subsequently be interviewed prior to admission.

The court said the current mode of admission is in violation of Legislative Instrument 1296.

The justices, in delivering their judgment, noted that their order on cancelling the entrance examination and subsequent interview should be implemented in six months when admissions for the 2018 academic year begins.

This is an indication that applicants for the 2017 admission will still have to go through the entrance examinations and the interview sessions.

But speaking to journalists after the court ruling, Prof Asare, who took the matter to court, said: “I am thrilled that what I have been saying since 2015, the court has today vindicated those things.”

He, however, added: “The court said the students who are currently scheduled to take the exams in 2017 should go ahead and take the exam. That was confusing to me because the court is asking those students to engage in what the court itself has declared as an unconstitutional act. I was trying to explain to the court that I don’t think it has the power to tell people to go and engage in an unconstitutional act, but I wasn’t given the opportunity – of course I understand why, because the judgment has been rendered and what I was trying to avoid was to come to the court and tell them you can’t do that.

“If the thing is unconstitutional then it must not be done, and so I am extremely confused and worried that the court will say this is an unconstitutional act but go ahead and do it anyway.”