Her Ladyship Gertrude Torkornoo, the Chief Justice, expressed concern that approximately 70% of cases dismissed by the court can be attributed to inadequate legal representation.
According to her, the legal profession is intricate and requires a significant level of diligence, competence, and integrity from its practitioners.
She pointed out that many lawyers fail to adhere to the established rules of procedure and often present insufficient evidence and poorly defined causes of action, leading to the denial of justice for numerous clients.
Her Ladyship Gertrude Torkornoo emphasized the crucial role of diligence and competence in maintaining ethical standards within the legal profession.
During her address at the 7th annual legal ethics training programme organized by the Africa Centre for Law and Ethics in collaboration with the GIMPA Faculty of Law, she highlighted that lawyers’ failure to adhere to ethical conduct has resulted in severe consequences, causing many individuals to lose their properties, businesses, and entire livelihoods. Some nations, too, have suffered significant losses due to the consequences of poor legal representation.
Her Ladyship urged law students and lawyers to prioritize ethical behavior to enhance the justice delivery system. She stressed that legal ethics is a collective responsibility shared by lawyers, judges, court registrars, bailiffs, Parliament, and the executive arm of government.
In her address, she urged lawyers not to resort to media publicity whenever they lose cases due to their own incompetence and lack of diligence, but instead, they should focus on being diligent and following proper procedures.
Dr. Kwaku Agyemang-Budu, the Dean of the GIMPA Faculty of Law and founder of the Africa Centre for Law and Ethics, further emphasized the importance of ethical behavior in the legal profession. He announced that the GIMPA Faculty of Law plans to introduce a course in Law and Ethics in the upcoming academic year to instill ethical principles in law students.
The purpose of the Legal Ethics Training Program is to introduce law students to the basic tenets and guidelines that govern professional legal and judicial practice.