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Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has called for legal reforms that address real problems and make the justice system more effective for ordinary Ghanaians.
He said legal reform should not be measured by the number of laws passed, but by whether those laws improve justice, strengthen accountability and protect citizens’ rights.
Speaking at the Ghana Law Society’s maiden Annual Bar Conference, held under the theme “Legal Reforms: The Place of the Ghanaian Lawyer,” Mr Bagbin said the effectiveness of any law must ultimately be judged by its impact on citizens.
“Good law and good law reform must solve a problem. It must expand justice. It must improve accountability. It must protect liberty and ultimately it must make the law work better for the ordinary citizen. That must be our test,” he said.
The Speaker cautioned that passing legislation does not automatically translate into justice, particularly where the law cannot be effectively implemented.
“A beautifully crafted Act of Parliament that cannot be implemented is little more than an elegant promise,” he said.
He added that constitutional rights could also remain out of reach when citizens lack the practical means to enforce them.
“A constitutional right that a poor citizen cannot practically claim remains distant from the person it was intended to protect,” he said.
Mr Bagbin urged stakeholders to look beyond legislation itself and examine how the justice system functions in practice.
“We must ask, does a citizen have meaningful access to justice? Are our courts sufficiently resourced? Are cases determined within a reasonable time? Are the men and women who dispense justice well remunerated?” he asked.
He said lawyers had a responsibility to contribute to the development of Ghana’s legal and constitutional framework and should not view their role solely as practising existing laws.
“The lawyer is therefore not simply a practitioner of law. The lawyer is an architect of the republic, and architects carry huge responsibility,” he said.
According to him, lawyers must understand the law as it exists while also having the courage to question whether it remains fit for a changing society.
“An exceptional lawyer must also have the courage and imagination to ask what the law ought to become,” he added.
The Speaker noted that developments in technology, commerce, crime, the environment and everyday social activity were creating new challenges for legal systems.
“Law cannot afford to remain a spectator in these changes. A legal system that does not evolve within society gradually loses relevance to that society,” he said.
He, however, cautioned against treating reform as change for its own sake.
“Reform must never become synonymous with change for its own sake,” Mr Bagbin said.
He also said Ghana’s ongoing constitutional reform process placed an important responsibility on the legal profession.
He urged lawyers and other stakeholders to examine not only whether particular proposals appeared attractive, but also whether they could be implemented, whether institutions had the capacity to enforce them and what their long-term consequences could be.
“The deeper questions are about constitutional coherence and clarity, democratic legitimacy, implementation, institutional capacity, and the long-term consequences of the choices we make,” he said.
“These questions I ask are uncomfortable questions. But fundamentally, reform begins with uncomfortable questions,” he added.
Source: www.myjoyonline.com
