US-based Ghanaian lawyer and scholar, Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare (alias Kwaku Azar), has called for the resignation or impeachment of five Supreme Court judges over matters concerning this year’s admission into the Ghana School of Law.
The five justices are Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah who is the Chairperson of the General Legal Council (GLC) – the sole body responsible for administering the law school entrance exams while Justices Victor Jones Dotse, Paul Baffoe Bonnie, Gabriel Pwamang and Prof. Nii Ashie Kotey are members.
In a Facebook post, Kwaku Azar contended that the justices have lost the legitimacy to continue remaining on the bench ostensibly because of their role in the opaqueness of the school of law exams.
“The 5 SC Justices have lost the legitimacy to sit on the court. They should resign or be impeached,” he wrote on his timeline.
Earlier in a July 28 post, Kwaku Azar accused the five Justices of masterminding the imposition of a mystery passing regime into the law school.
While stressing that the justices did not receive the same treatment while entering law school, he said they must come out with an explanation as to why they have decided to make the pass marks unknown.
He said such a move was unfair and a violation of the 1992 Constitution.
“Justices Yeboah, Dotse, Bonnie, Pwamang, and Kotey never took an exam with an unknown passing score. They know or ought to know that such a mystery passing regime (MPR) is unfair and unreasonable and violate Article 23 of the Constitution that they have sworn to uphold, protect, and preserve.
“They must come out and explain why they have chosen to impose this MPR on others when they will not subject themselves to a similar regime. They must come out to explain the rulemaking doctrine that underwrites their power to make rules without notice, hearing or any hint of due process.
“GOGO abhors such arbitrariness and capriciousness. And so should these learned Justices of the apex court,” Kwaku Azar wrote on his wall.
The CDD-Ghana fellow had called for the rectification of the unknown pass mark before September – the due month for the entrance exams.
He sounded the alarm bells with a view to preventing a repeat of last year’s situation where some aggrieved 499 law students were denied admission into the Ghana School of Law after a new pass criterion was introduced.
It took a series of protests and stakeholder engagement before they were granted admission.
“By an administrative fiat, the IEC and GLC have set aside the 50% pass mark, which they 'kotokiokosly' attempted to do last year to disqualify over 400 students to the utter chagrin of Ghanafuo.
“So rather than eat humble pie, these Lords of Legal Education have now pre-announced the 2022-2023 passing rule, as follows:
“Eligible Applicants who attain the minimum threshold mark set by the General Legal Council for this particular year will be offered admission for the 2022/2023 Academic Year to pursue the Professional Law Course.”
“There you have it! The pass rate is whatever the Lords say it is. The same administrative fiat was used to introduce interviews and exams, which was found to be unconstitutional!
“You wonder if these Lords understand administrative law or precedent. We should not wait till September to complain. We should nip this unconstitutionality in the bud NOW,” he wrote on his timeline.
Meanwhile, Kwaku Azar has urged Bachelor of Law degree holders to boycott this year’s entrance exams in protest against what has become a status quo.
Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah