1. Completion of the Law House project.
One of the biggest legacies of Attorney-General Godfred Dame, is the resolution of the age-old office accommodation challenge of the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice. Work on a 12 – storey building, comprising 10 levels above ground and a two-tier underground car park to accommodate the Ministry of Justice, which commenced in 2001, had stalled over the years, with the state of works officially recorded as only 36% complete by June, 2021, when Godfred Dame visited the site with the then President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
By ensuring the necessary commitment of resources and diligent supervision, the 12-storey edifice named “the Law House” – new Head Office of the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice, was completed and duly commissioned on 10th June, 2024.
2. Delivery of 93 vehicles to solve the transportation challenges of the Office of Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice.
In February, 2022, the Attorney-General delivered a total of ninety-one (91) vehicles for the Ministry of Justice, representing the biggest fleet of vehicles ever acquired for the Ministry. These were distributed among the various regional offices and agencies, giving a new lease of life to institutions like the Law Reform Commission which had only 1 vehicle acquired in 1996, the Copyright Office whose last vehicle was acquired in 2008 and the Legal Aid Commission, which previously had only 6 vehicles but received 13 more under Mr. Dame.
3. Construction of a new office for the Office of Registrar of Companies, Kumasi.
A new three-storey building was commissioned on 17th July, 2023 by Godfred Yeboah Dame, as new office accommodation for the Office of the Registrar of Companies, an agency under the Ministry. The building, located in the centre of business activities in the Kumasi metropolis, comprises 34 rooms for office, two conference rooms, a pantry, canteen, 21 washrooms, reception, security office and a large car park.
4. Conference of Public Sector Lawyers
To boost the capacity of all lawyers in the public service in the discharge of their duties, the Attorney-General from 5th to 7th November, 2024, organised the first ever Conference of Public Sector Lawyers for all lawyers in the public service. The conference provided a platform for knowledge sharing and refresher engagement of lawyers in the public service, with the ultimate objective of building the capacity of lawyers working for the State in all agencies and departments in the areas of negotiation, structuring, drafting and review of government contracts involving the Republic of Ghana as well as contemporary issues in international arbitration.
It brought together about 600 lawyers working in all government ministries, departments, agencies, and state-owned enterprises, fostered dialogue and promoted the exchange of best practices in legal service delivery. Training was conducted by experienced legal professionals with expertise in the relevant subjects drawn from around the world – Ghana, Nigeria, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America. If the conference of public sector lawyers is sustained, it will establish a foundation for a stronger and more efficient legal service to the Republic.
INSTITUTIONAL REFORM OF THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND MINISTRY OF JUSTICE, INCLUDING LAW REFORM
1. Passage of a law to abolish compound interest in the public service
In order to reduce the effect of judgment debts on the nation’s purse, the Attorney-General in 2023, spearheaded an amendment to the Contracts Act, 1960 (Act 25). By the amendment – the Contracts (Amendment) Act, 2023 (Act 1114) – public officers are prohibited from entering into a contract on behalf of the State in which the rate of interest is stipulated as compound interest. With the passage of Act 1114, it is expected that contracts with high rates of interest especially compound interest which result in huge judgment debt and financial loss to the State, as was witnessed in NDK Financial Services Limited v. The Attorney-General & 2 Others, will be avoided.
2. Establishment of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre
On 16th July, 2024, the Attorney-General ensured the setting up of the Ghana Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Centre. This was a requirement of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, 2010 (Act 798), but had not been fulfilled since 2010. The establishment of the ADR Centre presents a viable opportunity for multi billion-dollar commercial disputes and cases involving the use of Ghana’s natural resources to be resolved in Ghana. It will also enable members of the Ghana Bar Association, to sharpen their skills in the resolution of such disputes. With Ghana’s strong democratic credentials, it is expected that the ADR Centre will propel Ghana into an arbitration hub in Africa, particularly West Africa.
3. Amendment to arbitration procedures
A-G Godfred Yeboah Dame, frequently at international and local fora, spoke about the need to reform the rules and procedure regarding international arbitration in or der to ensure that the State does not unduly suffer unjustifiably gargantuan arbitral awards.
In September, 2024, the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice presented to Cabinet a proposed amendment to the State (Property and Contracts) Act, 1960 (CA 4), to mandate all contracts involving the State and its agencies which require arbitration as the dispute resolution mechanism, to not only stipulate Ghana law as the governing law, but also to have Ghana as the seat of arbitration and with the ADR Centre in Accra being the venue for the arbitration. With this amendment, the practice whereby the State and Ghanaian lawyers travel to foreign jurisdictions for the conduct of arbitration involving the Government of Ghana and where arbitral awards are enforced all over the world at enormous cost to the State will cease.
Unfortunately, the bill could not be passed into law before the 8th Parliament expired. It is hoped that the new A-G, Dominic Ayine, will take it up and ensure its passage into law.
4. Self-representation in international arbitration cases
Through the various international arbitration cases the Office of the Attorney-General conducts by itself rather than resorting to external legal counsel, the Attorney-General saved the nation many millions of US Dollars in legal fees (averaging a minimum of US$5 Million per case). Further, through this, the Attorney-General built the capacity, expertise and confidence of state attorneys in the defence of international arbitration cases.
Our investigations show that, in all, there were about thirteen (13) international arbitration cases filed against Ghana in Godfred Dame’s tenure as Attorney-General. The State was represented by foreign counsel in only three (3) of them, with the rest being handled by the Attorney-General and his staff.
Our research further shows that there were six (6) rulings or awards delivered in international arbitration cases between 2021 and 2025. 4 of them had the Attorney-General being the counsel. In all four (4) in which the A-G’s Office handled without foreign legal counsel, it emerged victorious with the Government obtaining costs of over US$2.2 Million in its favour. In the other 2 in which foreign counsel were engaged, the Government lost 1 and partially succeeded in the other.
5. Passage of a law to introduce plea bargaining into the criminal jurisprudence of Ghana
To ease congestion in the courts and the prisons, Godfred Dame spearheaded an amendment to the criminal procedure laws of Ghana – the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) (Amendment) Act, 2022 (Act 1079) – to introduce plea bargaining into the criminal jurisprudence of the country.
6. Speeding up criminal justice delivery
To enhance the speed of adjudication of criminal cases in the country and to address the well-known problems with the jury system, a Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) (Amendment) Bill introduced by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice in Parliament on 14th March, 2024. The Bill sought to mandate day to day trial of all criminal cases, abolish interlocutory appeals until the submission of no case stage, adoption of evidence in criminal matters, video conferencing, reduction of the list of exemptions from the jury service, etc.
Unfortunately, the bill could not be passed into law before the term of the 8th Parliament ended. It is hoped that the new A-G, Dominic Ayine, will take it up and ensure its passage into law.
7. Establishment of the Legal Aid Fund
To ensure the financial capacity of the Commission and to lay the building blocks for the transformation of that agency to enable it efficiently and effectively carry out its mandate under the Legal Aid Commission Act, 2018 (Act 977), the Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame together with the President, in 2022, launched the Legal Aid Fund. The State contributed a seed amount of One Million Ghana Cedis (GHC1,000,000.00) in addition to contributions from various institutions. The A-G charged the Board of the Legal Aid Commission to raise more funds and pay same into the account, as mandated by Act 977.
8. The establishment of the Law Reform Commission Fund
In order to assist the attainment of the core objective of the Law Reform Commission to develop and reform laws and develop the human resources of the Commission, the Attorney-General together with the President of the Republic, in 2022, set up a statutory fund, the Law Reform Commission Fund, a requirement under the Law Reform Commission Act, 2011(Act 822) but which had been unfulfilled since 2011. The State contributed a seed amount of One Million Ghana Cedis (GHC1,000,000.00) in addition to contributions from various institutions. The A-G charged the Board of the Law Reform Commission to raise more funds and pay same into the account, as mandated by Act 822.
9. Augmenting the staff strength of state attorneys
In 2021/2022, the capacity of the Office was augmented with the recruitment of 60 attorneys. A further 70 new attorneys were recruited in 2024 bringing the total number of attorneys recruited in the tenure of the current Attorney-General to 130. When account is taken of about 60 attorneys recruited in 2017, the total number of attorneys (190), recruited in the Akufo-Addo administration constitutes about half of the number of state attorneys currently on the roll – about 370.
10. Operationalisation of the Office of the Registrar of Companies
On 22nd July, 2022, the Office of the Registrar of Companies, was established. The establishment of the office was an innovative requirement under section 351(1) of the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992). It resulted in a separation of the Registrar of Companies established under Act 992 from the old Registrar-General’s Department. The development ensures that the new Office of Registrar of Companies devotes full attention to matters bordering on the registration and regulation of all types of businesses in the country.
INDEPENDENCE OF THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL IN THE DELIVERY OF OPINIONS
Taking office in the second term of President Akufo-Addo, and a time that the Government was dogged by various financial and economic challenges, Attorney-General Godfred Dame was required to deliver a legal opinion on many of the sensitive economic decisions and actions of Government. On a monthly basis, the A-G’s Office expressed hundreds of opinions on many aspects of government operations.
Our research shows a demonstration of complete independence, impartiality and fidelity to the law in the delivery of those opinions some of which per our sources incurred the displeasure of the Attorney-General’s own colleagues in Cabinet.
The following are a sample of some key opinions delivered by the A-G against critical decisions of the Akufo-Addo administration.
1. Opinion on the attempted Torrentco take-over of Tema Oil Refinery
One transaction which attracted a lot public commentary and divergent opinion amongst civil society was the proposed lease of the assets of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to a company, Torrentco Asset Management Limited. In the face of clear support for the transaction by the Government, A-G Godfred Dame issued an opinion on a request by the Petroleum and Chemical Workers’ Union, in which he cast grave doubts on the financial and technical capacity of the proposed lessee, Torrentco Assets Management Limited. Amongst other things, he described the company as lacking “the requisite licenses and documentation to undertake the transaction”. This scuttled the deal and incurred a lot of negative press for TOR.
2. The opinion on the legal framework for the domestic debt exchange programme
In the face of severe financial constraints, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) in November, 2022, wrote to the A-G indicating its intention to undertake a debt operation of its outstanding obligations under various bond agreements by adopting a negotiated settlement approach relating to its domestic debts. This is what became known as the domestic debt exchange programme (DDEP).
The MoF sought A-G Godfred Dame’s view on legally and constitutionally acceptable means of using collective action clauses to allow a qualifying majority of bondholders to agree to debt operation terms on their bonds and to make changes binding on dissenting creditors.
Godfred Yeboah Dame in a well-reasoned opinion laden with references to various pieces of legislation and texts on Contract Law, kicked against the proposals by MoF. He observed that in the absence of agreement by the parties, it would be unlawful for the Government to unilaterally introduce collective action clauses into bond agreements as same may constitute an event of default under the Terms and Conditions of the Bonds issued. He further noted, among other things, that executive actions including the use of executive instruments and emergency powers could not be lawfully deployed by MoF to impose collective action clauses on bondholders since they would operate retrospectively and thus, would also constitute a breach of the terms of the bond agreements.
Notwithstanding this, MoF proceeded with the domestic exchange programme through the imposition of terms on bond holders resulting in endless protestations and demonstrations by bond holders.
3. Implementation of the Justice Koomson Report on the Ejura shooting incident
Following the shooting incident at Ejura by officers of the Ghana Police Service in 2022 which claimed some lives and caused injury to others, the Attorney-General, desirous of implementing the report of the Justice Koomson Committee of Inquiry, advised in separate letters to the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Health the constitution of a Medical Board to assess the injured victims in order to inform the computation of compensation payable to them. On receipt of the report of the Medical Board, the A-G assessed the standard of compensation usually payable pursuant to court orders, for such victims. He advised the Ghana Police Service on various handsome compensations to be paid to the victims Louis Ayikpa, 30 years; Nazif Nuhu, 20 years; and Awal Mesbawu, 16 years. The amounts paid to the victims on the recommendations of the Attorney-General were generally higher than sums usually ordered by the courts to be paid to victims of such shooting incidents.
4. Opinion on Government’s US$64Million purchase of Sputnik Covid-19 vaccines
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government of Ghana acting by the Health Minister, Agyemang Manu, purchased Sputnik Covid-19 vaccines for US$64million. The Health Minister forwarded the agreement for the review of the A-G after executing the transaction.
The A-G, in a rather scathing opinion, indicated that parts of the agreement “were skewed against the government” and therefore unacceptable. The A-G also stated that the agreement was unconstitutional, for failure to be approved by Parliament, and in violation of the public procurement laws of the country. This opinion forced the former Minister for Health to apply to the Dubai based company, suppliers of the vaccine, for a refund of the amount already paid to the company, which was done.
ENHANCEMENT OF ACCESS TO LEGAL EDUCATION
One area in which tremendous progress was made in the tenure of Godfred Yeboah Dame as Attorney-General is the enhancement of access to legal education. Between 2021 and 2024, through a deliberate policy of broadening access to legal education, the number of lawyers on the roll of lawyers has more than doubled. Godfred Dame, as Attorney-General in 2021, personally ensured the admission of some 499 students into the Ghana School of Law by presenting a petition to the General Legal Council.
In total, the General Legal Council (Ghana School of Law) enrolled 5,250 professional law students.Out of this number, a total of 3968 professional lawyers were called to the Bar at both the Mini Call and the Main Call ceremonies from 2021 to 2024, more than doubling the total number of lawyers in the country before President Akufo-Addo assumed office in 2017. In 2022 alone, over one thousand (1000) lawyers were called to the Bar, the highest in the country’s history at that time. In 2023, this record was broken with the admission of 1,286 lawyers at both the Main Call and Mini Call ceremonies. In 2024, 777 lawyers were called at the Main Call in October, with 182 lawyers already having been called at the Mini Call earlier in June.