Legal scholar and governance advocate, Professor Kwaku Azar, has launched a bold call for constitutional reforms aimed at ending what he describes as the Ghana Bar Association's (GBA) "unchecked and undemocratic monopoly" over legal representation in public governance.
In a comprehensive statement, Azar questioned the legitimacy of a voluntary private association such as the GBA holding entrenched constitutional privileges that no other professional body enjoys.
While acknowledging the GBA's historic contributions to democracy, civil liberties, and judicial independence, he argued that its legacy cannot justify its outsized role in state institutions. "The GBA is a private, voluntary association, not created by statute, and not subject to public accountability or oversight," Azar stated. "Yet the Constitution treats it as a universal proxy for the legal profession, granting it power to nominate or appoint individuals to key constitutional bodies." He cited at least ten constitutional provisions in which the GBA holds nomination or representative powers, including the Council of State, Judicial Council, Police Council, Lands Commission, and National Media Commission. "This entrenched constitutional role creates a monopoly of voice that silences lawyers who are not members of the GBA," Azar argued. "It violates principles of pluralism, association freedom, and democratic representation." To address what he sees as a structural imbalance, Azar proposed a sweeping reform that would replace all references to the GBA in the Constitution with a democratic process whereby all licensed legal practitioners could vote to elect representatives.
His reform proposal, backed by the Governance of Ghana Organisation (GOGO), includes the creation of an independent electoral roll for lawyers, open nomination procedures, universal voting rights for all licensed legal practitioners, and clearly defined term limits for representatives. "Representation must be earned through democratic legitimacy, not inherited through legacy or protected by exclusivity," Azar insisted. "Let every lawyer have a voice.
