Private legal practitioner Yaw Aning Boadu has filed a lawsuit against the General Legal Council (GLC), the Office of the Registrar of Companies, and the Ghana Law Society, challenging the legality of the Society’s registration and operations.
The suit, filed at the High Court through his lawyers at Hales Solicitors, lists the Ghana Law Society as the first defendant, the Office of the Registrar of Companies as the second defendant, and the General Legal Council as the third defendant.
In his statement of claim, Mr Aning Boadu states that he is a member in good standing of the Ghana Bar Association, which he describes as the recognised professional association of lawyers in Ghana.
According to the plaintiff, the Ghana Law Society presents itself as a professional association of lawyers with authority to issue and renew practising licences, pupillage licences, and licences for law chambers. He contends that the Society has, for some time, held itself out to the general public, legal practitioners, and state institutions as a duly registered professional body of lawyers in Ghana.
Mr Aning Boadu further alleges that the Ghana Law Society has engaged in conduct calculated to create the impression that it has lawful authority from the General Legal Council to license lawyers, pupils, and law chambers.
He argues that these public representations, media engagements, and related activities are misleading, in breach of statute, and undermine the regulatory framework governing the registration of professional bodies in Ghana.
The plaintiff maintains that the law regulating the registration of professional bodies requires strict compliance, including a statutory threshold that such a body must represent at least 75 per cent of persons trained and qualified in the relevant profession.
Reliefs Sought
Mr Aning Boadu is seeking, among other reliefs, a declaration that the registration of the Ghana Law Society by the Office of the Registrar of Companies as a body of persons trained and qualified in the legal profession is illegal.
He is also asking the court to order the Registrar of Companies to expunge the Ghana Law Society from the Register of Professional Bodies.
Additionally, the plaintiff seeks an order directing the General Legal Council to withdraw and expunge any purported accreditation, approval, or recognition granted to the Ghana Law Society.
He is further requesting a perpetual injunction restraining the Ghana Law Society, its executives, and its members from holding themselves out as a registered or accredited professional body of lawyers in Ghana.
