The Rector of MountCrest University College, (MountCrest), Mrs. Irene Ansa-Asare Horsham has challenged law students to learn to be bold and assertive as they prepare to become legal practitioners, since Ghana needs law graduates who can speak truth to power and uphold Ghana’s motto, ‘Freedom and Justice’.
Borrowing the words of the venerable English Judge, Lord Denning, the MountCrest Rector pointed out that there are two types of law graduates that enter society, “Bold Spirits and Timorous Souls”. She therefore urged law schools to eschew teaching and learning methods that breed “timorous souls” (timid people).
Mrs. Horsham gave the advice at the 11th matriculation ceremony of the MountCrest University College held virtually on May 29 to admit the 2021 (A) cohorts of law students.
According to the Rector, who is also a law lecturer, MountCrest prides itself in training graduates who will become the bold spirits that will speak truth to power and uphold Ghana’s motto; Freedom and Justice and “At MountCrest, we eschew teaching and learning methods that breed timorous souls”.
“We encourage critical thinking. We encourage dissent. We encourage tolerance for opposing beliefs. We encourage togetherness in spite of our differences. We actively promote diversity, equality and inclusion and we manifest all these in our teaching and learning methods,” she stated.
She said although she did not agree that legal education should hold an elevated status, she recognised that it was indeed special because its distinctiveness is underlined in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, specifically in Articles 125(1) and 88(1).
“Article 125(1): Justice emanates from the people and shall be administered in the name of the Republic by the Judiciary which shall be independent and subject only to this Constitution. Article 88(1): There shall be an Attorney-General of Ghana who shall be a Minister of State and the principal legal adviser to the Government,” Mrs. Horsham quoted.
The Rector noted that as far as Ghana’s Constitution was concerned, the role of the Judiciary in the administration of justice and that of the Attorney-General in being the legal advisor to government, cannot be performed by anyone other than persons who are qualified as lawyers.
These roles, she said, were indirectly reserved by the Constitution for lawyers. “That is what makes legal education so special in the development of our young democracy. Unlike other roles in government, people not trained in law are not permitted by the Constitution to perform the roles of the Judiciary and the Attorney General because they simply cannot,” she stressed.
She observed that this restriction does not arise elsewhere. For example, she said, the Minister of Health need not be a doctor; the Finance Minister need not have a professional qualification in finance, Parliamentarians need not hold university degrees, even the President of the Republic, technically, need not have an academic qualification beyond functional literacy.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh
