A-G cautions GBA against meddling in partisan politics

Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has urged the Ghana Bar Association to maintain a clear distance from partisan politics.

He said the Association must continue to protect its independence and preserve its role as a professional body that serves as the conscience of the Republic.

Dr Ayine’s remarks were contained in an address read on his behalf by Deputy Attorney-General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, at the Ghana Bar Association Conference in Ada on September 14.

According to him, the Bar’s influence depends on its ability to remain professional, independent and measured in its engagement with national issues.

He said Bar associations in other Commonwealth jurisdictions have shown that professional bodies can speak firmly on matters of public interest while keeping a “decent distance” from political power.

“These observations of mine are not born out of a casual place of luxury, they are born out of my deep experience in the affairs of bars in other countries and within the Commonwealth, whereby associations are fiercely professional and keep a decent distance from the corridors of political power,” he said.

Dr Ayine said the GBA has long been regarded as “the guardian of the Constitution, the friends of the court, the conscience of the Republic”.

He said those descriptions impose a duty on the Association to act in a way that strengthens the legal profession and public confidence in constitutional governance.

The Attorney-General, however, said calls for the independence of the Bar must also be matched by responsibility from the State.

“These experiences taught me one other thing, it is that the demand for independence must not be isolated from proper context. The demand for the Bar’s independence must come with a demand on the State itself for responsibility,” he said.

He added that the State must create the institutional conditions that allow the legal profession to manage its own affairs without dependence on government.

“The State owes the Bar the institutional condition with which the Bar can govern itself, discipline itself and provide for its own members without leaning on the State for permission,” Dr Ayine said.

He said a truly independent Bar must be able to govern itself, discipline its members and speak on national issues from a place of professional integrity rather than partisan alignment.

Dr Ayine urged the GBA to continue playing its watchdog role while guarding against any conduct that could make the Association appear politically captured.