CJ Nominee Baffoe-Bonnie Warns of Lawyer Shortage in Ghana and Calls for Law School Expansion
Accra, Ghana – Chief Justice nominee Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie has expressed concern over the severe shortage and uneven distribution of lawyers across Ghana, describing it as one of the major constraints undermining access to justice and the rule of law.
Speaking during his vetting before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Monday November 10, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie said that despite the growing number of law graduates, many regions still lack adequate legal professionals, particularly at the district level where government institutions are legally required to have functional legal departments. “The Local Government Act requires every local government to have a legal department, not just a lawyer. But most district assemblies and Houses of Chiefs don’t have any. We actually need more lawyers,” he stated.
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie revealed that while the Accra Metropolis alone has over 5,000 lawyers, Kumasi has only 305, Koforidua 110, and Sekondi even fewer, creating what he termed a “geographical maldistribution of legal expertise.” He added that Ghana currently produces about 800 new lawyers each year, but nearly a quarter never enter active legal practice.
“Some are in politics, others in education or private business. So even the few we have are not fully available for court work,” he noted.
Justice Baffoe Bonnie disclosed that discussions are ongoing between the Judicial Service, the Attorney General’s Department, and law faculties across the country to expand the Ghana School of Law program to other universities, a move that could eliminate the controversial entrance examination bottleneck.
“The idea is that every LLB graduate will have the opportunity to pursue professional legal training. At the end of the program, there will be a uniform examination for qualification,” he explained.
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie emphasized that broadening access to legal education would not only help fill the justice delivery gaps in rural areas but also ensure that state institutions are adequately staffed with competent legal officers.
The nominee also touched on the structure of the judiciary, arguing that Ghana’s Supreme Court needs its current 19 justices due to its wide appellate and constitutional jurisdictions unlike the United States, whose nine-member federal court deals solely with constitutional interpretation.
He warned that unless Ghana redefines the jurisdictional limits of its apex court, the number of justices could rise further due to increasing caseloads and emerging legal fields such as cybercrime and AI-related law.
“If we don’t reform our structure, we may soon need 25 Supreme Court judges. The solution is constitutional reform to reduce the number of cases that must end at the Supreme Court,” he said.
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