Crack the whip on unethical lawyers – GBA

Ghana Bar Association’s Spokesperson Tony Forson has said the justices of the Supreme Court should move beyond threats to sanction unsavoury comments by lawyers involved in the hearing of the presidential election petition.

The GBA spokesperson was speaking on Multi TV and Joy Fm’s Top Story.

He began by asserting he could not sit “in judgment” over his colleagues. But in reference to a charged court hearing during which Addison was warned by various Justices of the Supreme Court to refrain from insinuative commentary.

The spokesperson said the basis for disciplinary actions for unethical conduct by lawyers was detailed in the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rules, 1969 (LI 613).

He noted although it was the right of a lawyer in the performance of his duties to fearlessly uphold the interest of his client and “put his best foot forward”, lawyers are also officers of the court.

Their negative comments were ultimately directed at the bench, he said.

In his view, the court had “bent over backwards too much” especially as some of the justices were known to be strict.

He said he had no doubt in his mind that it was about “time for the court to crack the whip”.

The nature of the case was sensitive and this may have influenced the liberality that lawyers were abusing, he inferred.

He noted the lawyers involved in the epic hearing at the Supreme Court were supposed to represent the “finest” in the legal profession. Their conduct was therefore “unfortunate” and “bizarre”, he said.

The Ghana Bar Association could not do much because it was a professional association, he revealed. The General Legal Council could do more either by striking off the name of a lawyer from the roll of lawyers or suspend a lawyer for unethical behavior, the spokesperson said.

The GBA was “extremely concerned”, he said, adding the Association had on an occasion spoken to the lawyers about their conduct.

It was, therefore, time for the Justices to move beyond threats and sanction erring lawyers.

Abraham Amaliba, a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s legal team agreed with this assertion and reiterated “we now need to see the whip cracked”.

But spokesperson for the legal team of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Yaw Buaben Asamoah, said the court did not need to sanction Philip Addison today.