The Human Rights Division of the High Court in Accra has granted an interim injunction restraining the Medical and Dental Council (MDC) from conducting its mandatory Stage 1 Common Registration Examination (CRE) for locally trained medical students scheduled for Wednesday, October 22, 2026.
The order follows an ex-parte application (an application heard without notice to the respondents) filed by The Federation of Ghana Medical Students’ Associations (on behalf of 798) medical students seeking to halt the examination.
Presiding Judge, Justice Nana Brew, in granting the application, held that the court was satisfied that the applicants had demonstrated a legal interest as medical students and required the protection of the court from what the Court described as “unwarranted interference.”
The ruling, which was met with cheers in court, provides temporary relief for the students pending the hearing and determination of an interlocutory injunction application fixed for November 3, 2026.
The action was brought by the Federation of Ghana Medical Students’ Associations (FGMSA) over the Council’s introduction of the Common Registration Examination and its implications for graduating medical and dental students approaching provisional registration and housemanship.
Administrative guidelines vs Legislative Instrument
Moving the motion for interim injunction on Tuesday, October 21, 2026, Counsel for the applicants, Rachel Otu-Ampomah, who held the brief of Francis Xavier Sosu, told the court that the application was brought pursuant to Order 25 Rule 1(7) of C.I. 47.
She prayed the court for “an order of interim injunction restraining the first defendant, whether by itself, its officers or agents, from enforcing against the applicants the mandatory requirement to sit and pass the Stage 1 Common Registration Examination as a condition for provisional registration and commencement of housemanship, pending the hearing of the interlocutory injunction.”
Counsel said the application was moved “in terms of the motion paper, accompanying affidavit in support and statement of case.”
According to her, the application was necessary to protect the professional progression of the applicants, who she described as medical graduates and final-year students who commenced training in the 2020/21 academic year.
“At the time of their admission, the framework was that graduates of accredited medical schools proceeded to provisional registration and housemanship without sitting a separate post-graduation examination,” Ms. Otu-Ampomah submitted.
She argued that the first defendant has now introduced the mandatory Stage 1 CRE as a prerequisite for provisional registration, with the examination scheduled for October 22, 2026.
Legal basis
On the legal justification for the application, Counsel referred the court to Section 49(1)(b)(f) of the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, 2013 (Act 857), which she said provides for regulation by Legislative Instrument concerning conditions for registration and the education and examination of practitioners.
She also cited the Supreme Court decision in Prof. Stephen Kweku Asare v Attorney-General and Ghana Legal Council [2 SCGLR 570] (2017/2018).
Ms. Otu-Ampomah further submitted that per Exhibit TH3 dated April 18, 2026, attached to the affidavit in support, the Council was relying on administrative guidelines to impose the examination.
“Our submission this morning is that per exhibit TH3 dated April 18, 2026, an administrative guideline cannot replace a Legislative Instrument where the Act requires one,” she argued.
She told the court that there are serious questions of law to be tried.
Urgency
On why the applicants proceeded ex-parte, Counsel submitted that the matter was of extreme urgency.
“We have to proceed ex-parte because of the urgency of this matter and proceeding on notice would have defeated the purpose of the interlocutory application which is coming on November 3, 2026,” she said.
She added: “Some public institutions have the tendency to go ahead with an impugned act… They have notice of the impending application.”
Ms. Otu-Ampomah urged the court to consider the public interest nature of the case and the fate of the 792 applicants, arguing that it was imperative that the application be granted pending the interlocutory injunction.
On the question of hardship, she argued that the applicants risk disruption to their provisional registration and housemanship, resulting in loss of valuable professional time which cannot be adequately compensated in damages.
“On the balance of convenience, it favours preserving the applicants’ position,” she submitted, relying on the locus classicus on injunctions – American Cyanamid v Ethicon Limited AC 396.
“In the circumstances, we pray that the application be granted and the first defendant ordered to halt the examination scheduled for tomorrow, October 22, 2026,” Counsel concluded.
Court’s Order
After considering the submission, Justice Brew granted the interim injunction, halting the examination until the interlocutory injunction is heard.
The Federation had said prior to the hearing that it remains committed to constructive engagement, fairness, due process, and the protection of students’ legitimate interests within Ghana’s medical and dental education system.
The interlocutory injunction is expected to be moved on November 3, 2026.
