Ghana Law Society Faces High Court Injunction Over Licensing Claims

A legal firestorm has erupted within Ghana’s legal fraternity as a new lawsuit seeks to immediately halt the operations of the Ghana Law Society (GLS).

The move comes just days after the GLS publicly claimed it had been officially accredited by the General Legal Council (GLC) to break the long-standing monopoly of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA).

In a Motion on Notice for an Interlocutory Injunction filed at the High Court (General Jurisdiction) on January 23, 2026, the plaintiff, Yaw Aning Boadu, is praying for an order to restrain the GLS from holding itself out as a registered professional body or issuing any form of legal practicing licenses.

The dispute centers on the announcement made on January 22, 2026, suggesting that the GLC, under the chairmanship of Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, had authorized the Ghana Law Society to facilitate the issuance of Practicing, Chamber, and Pupillage Licenses—functions traditionally held exclusively by the GBA and the GLC.

However, the plaintiff’s affidavit in support of the injunction argues that these claims are not only premature but legally “ultra vires” (beyond their power).

The suit names the Ghana Law Society, the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC), and the General Legal Council as defendants.

The plaintiff contends that allowing the GLS to continue its current course would create “confusion” and “undermine regulatory authority” within the administration of justice.

“That damages will not be an adequate remedy for the harm likely to be occasioned by the continued unlawful conduct as the injury complained of is regulatory, institutional, and affects the integrity of the legal profession,” the affidavit states.

The core of the legal challenge rests on three pillars: Statutory Compliance, Ultra Vires Acts, and Preservation of Status Quo.

The emergence of the Ghana Law Society was initially cheered by critics of the GBA, who argued that the 1992 Constitution’s reference to the Ghana Bar Association should be interpreted as a general term for any association of lawyers rather than a specific monopoly for one private club.

Prominent legal voices, including Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, have supported the GLS’s push for inclusivity.

However, this new injunction suggests that the transition to a multi-bar system will be a fierce, litigious battleground.

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