Ghana Chief Justice warns new lawyers against political allegiance

Ghana’s Chief Justice, Paul Kwadwo Baffoe-Bonnie, has issued a directive to newly admitted lawyers, emphasizing that professional principles must take precedence over political allegiances. Speaking at the 2026 call to the Bar ceremony organized by the General Legal Council in Accra, the Chief Justice addressed 1,568 new lawyers.

Justice Baffoe-Bonnie characterized the law as a public trust and a “shield for those who have little power of their own and not a sword for the powerful.” He urged the new practitioners to maintain their ethical integrity, stating they should not “sell their conscience for a brief” or allow clients to dictate their professional ethics. He concluded by reminding the cohort that being a lawyer places them under a higher obligation to the law rather than above it.