Legal Education Reform
Act 1170 (2026)

President John Dramani Mahama signed the Legal Education Bill, 2026 into law on 11th May, 2026 at the Jubilee House in Accra. The Legal Education Act establishes the Council for Legal Education and Training (CLET) as the body obligated to regulate legal education in Ghana and to provide the curriculum for legal education. CLET has also been tasked with licensing and accrediting legal institutions and universities running legal education programmes, in collaboration with the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC).

This reform creates equal opportunities for those aspiring to be lawyers in Ghana, and gives rise to the Law Practice Training (LPT) Programme.

Act 1170 abolishes the Independent Examinations Committee (IEC) and the entrance examination for admission to professional legal training. Admissions no longer depend on IEC examinations, and instead rest on each institution's own academic rules, admission policies, available capacity, and relevant regulatory requirements.

Although CLET is yet to be constituted and universities are yet to be accredited to run the new LPT Programme, the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, following consultations with the Chairman of the General Legal Council, issued Interim Policy Directives to all accredited universities offering law programmes to address urgent matters arising during the transition to the new legal education regime.

With the Act coming into force ahead of the 2026/2027 academic year, there is insufficient time for institutions to be accredited to begin the LPT under the new law, and an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 LL.B. graduates are awaiting professional legal training. Transitional arrangements - including the Pre-Bar Course - have therefore been introduced to ensure a smooth and effective transition to the new legal education framework.