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The Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, has cut the sod for the construction of a $14 million multipurpose building for the University of Ghana School of Law (UGSoL).
When completed, the four-storey building and its adjoining structures would include a 1,500-seater auditorium, about 50 lecture rooms — ranging between a 1,000-seater to 16-seater rooms, two 750-seater moot courts, 100 offices, a 500-seater library, a gymnasium, clinic, cafeteria, baby bay, bookshop and a rooftop bar, among other amenities.
Present at the event in Accra yesterday which was also used to launch the 2023 UGSoL alumni homecoming, included a Deputy Attorney-General, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah; the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo; a retired Justice of the Supreme Court and former Dean of UGSoL, Justice Prof. Nii Ashie Kotey; a former Vice-Chancellor of UG, Prof. George Akilagpa Sawyerr; the President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Yaw Acheampong Boafo, and the Dean of UGSoL, Prof. Raymond A. Atuguba.
Justice Torkornoo described the project as a visionary innovation which, when completed, could compete with other highly rated Law schools globally.
“This project will showcase a world-class facility surpassing those available to many schools of Law around the globe.
It is reflective of the spirit of leadership and excellence that the University of Ghana and its School of Law had always been,” she added.
Workers at construction site of the GH¢14m multipurpose building for the Ghana School of Law.
Recounting her days as a student at UG some 40 years ago, the Chief Justice said she and her mates used to study behind a tree, while the lecture room contained about 100 students.
The new project, she said, was a testament to the growth of UG and UGSoL in its history as the premier university and Law school in the country.
“For 45 years, the University of Ghana Faculty of Law stood as the only Faculty of Law in the country.
During this period, it incubated and housed almost all the legal knowledge and infrastructure for the training and practice of law,” Justice Torkornoo said.
Legal education
The Chief Justice further said that the quality of law practice and ultimately the rule of law were premised on quality legal education, made up of standard facilities and tutoring.
She, therefore, called on other faculties of Law, stakeholders in legal education and institutions in the law-making and implementation processes, including Parliament, to make investment in quality legal education a top priority for the benefit of the country.
“I am hopeful that the envisaged state of the art facility will not only contribute significantly to legal education, but will also act as the leadership beacon to all involved in the learning, administration and implementation of law and justice,” she added.
Commendation
Mr Tuah-Yeboah also commended the UGSoL for evolving over the years and changing the face of legal education through the introduction of Graduate Law programmes not just for Law graduates, but also for those in other disciplines to expand their knowledge of the law.
“The University of Ghana School of Law is the mother faculty and sets the standard for all other faculties of Law in the country.
The school, therefore, deserves such a befitting edifice to carry on its good work,” he added.
Support
Prof. Amfo said the new UGSoL complex would be a hub of innovation and scholarship for stakeholders of the law to brainstorm and advance the legal profession.
She, however, appealed to the alumni of UGSoL and other partners to support the project with resources for its timely completion.
For his part, Prof. Atuguba expressed gratitude to faculty members, former deans, staff and alumni of UGSoL for their immense contribution which, he said, enabled the project to kick-start.
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