Law Faculty Proud Of Achievements

Officials and alumni of the Faculty of Law at the University of Ghana, Legon say among the things the faculty is proud of is the fact that it has produced the current President of the Republic, two Chief Justices and a Speaker of Parliament.

At a ceremony to launch the 50th anniversary celebration of the faculty at the university yesterday, speaker after speaker have congratulated the faculty for its pioneering role in shaping the political destiny of the country by producing people whose academic brilliance has made positive impact on the country's body politic.

Delivering a keynote address at the launch, the Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Justice Theodora Georgina Wood, said the achievements chalked so far gives her a sense of pride as an alumna, not only of the faculty, but also of the Law School.

According to her, the two wings contributed both the academic instruction and practical vocation that were needed to train good lawyers, including President Mills and Rt. Hon. Begyina Sekyi Huges, former Speaker of Parliament.

She called for a new breed of lawyers whose values and norms would centre on integrity and public spiritedness.

Earlier in a presentation which he called 'an old man's reflections of the turbulent history of the faculty', the Asokorehene, Nana Krobia Susubiribi Asante (aka Nana Dr. K.B. Asante) said the faculty had since 1958 played a pioneering role in moulding the political stature of the country, and was also proud of the quality of people it had churned out, including Prof Mills.

He lamented the absence of legal facilities in the rural areas and called on young lawyers to be more sensitive to the public interest and also render service to mankind.

Nana Asante, also an alumnus, further called on the faculty to place more emphasis on International Business Transaction and Environmental Law, which he noted would help in such areas as petroleum drilling, mining and other joint ventures.

The Dean of the Law Faculty, Professor Kofi Quashigah, likened the turbulent history of the faculty to that of Ghana's political history, saying one is embedded in the other.  

The launch was climaxed by the unveiling of the three-month celebration programme, which includes public lectures, law teachers' conference, homecoming/ barbecue and a grand durbar. It was chaired by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Clifford Nii Tagoe.

In a related development, the Students Representative Council (SRC) and the entire student body of the University of Ghana has congratulated President John Atta Mills and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on the victory of the December elections.

A press release signed by the acting SRC President, Rebecca Delong, promised the students' readiness to support the government in its developmental agenda.

“We wish to reiterate that the new administration can count on the full support of the student body of the University of Ghana in any manner relating to its attempts to improve the lives of the Ghanaian citizenry, and especially students of Ghana and the education system in general,” the release concluded.

By Bennett Akuaku