The Supreme Court has struck out an interlocutory application that sought to halt the entrance examination into the Ghana School of Law (GSL) slated for July 27, 2018.
The application was filed by United States-based Ghanaian lawyer, Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare [Kwaku Azar], but it failed to succeed following a preliminary legal objection raised by the defendants - the General Legal Council (GLC) and the Attorney-General (A-G).
In his application Professor Asare argued that the GLC was in contempt of a judgement delivered by the court on June 23, 2017.
At the hearing Wednesday, lawyer for the GLC, Mr Kizito Beyuo, argued that the affidavit supporting the injunction application was defective because it was not sworn to by Professor Asare and also that he [Prof Asare] did not sign it as required by law.
Counsel argued that the practice of another person signing an affidavit on behalf of a party to a suit was alien to Ghana's legal system.
"There is no competent application before the court and I invite the court, therefore, to strike it out as incompetent,'' he submitted.
Lawyer for Professor Asare, Mr Kofi Bentil, in his submission conceded that there was an error with the affidavit, but prayed the court to grant his client the permission to rectify it.
His plea was, however, rejected by the seven-member panel hearing the case, who held that the error was not one that they could gloss over.
After the judges made their position clear, Mr Bentil prayed to withdraw the application and refile later, which the court accepted.
"The application for interlocutory injunction is struck out as withdrawn with liberty to refile,'' the court held.
The seven -member panel was presided over by Mr Justice Jones M Dotse, with Mr Justice Anin Yeboah, Mr Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, Mrs Justice Vida Akoto Bamfo, Mr Justice Anthony A Benin, Mr Justice Yaw Appau and Mr Justice Gabriel Pwamang as the other members.
In October, 2015, Professor Asare initiated a legal action challenging the legality of the criteria for admission used by the GSL..
He argued that entrance exams and interviews which were a requirements for admission into the GSL was illegal and unconstitutional.
Due to the court's order, Parliament in March, 2018, passed a new Legislative Instrument (LI) governing admission into the GSL.
Professor Asare then filed a new application in June, 2018, with the case that the GLC failed to review the admission process within the stipulated six months period as ordered by the Supreme Court.
"An order restraining the GLC and its agents from conducting an entrance examination or any other screening process for admission into the GSL," he stated.