Lancaster University Ghana hosted its Inaugural Law Colloquium on 14th April, 2015. The Colloquium is intended to create a platform for academic discourse and foster collaborative research between faculty members from the various established law programmes in the country. The inaugural edition was themed Law for Development.
Papers were invited from any field of law and on any topic therein that discussed the implications for the development of Ghana’s economy, social order, legal order, legal education or human rights culture. It was attended by members of faculty from four institutions as well as students, practitioners and other members of society.
Hon. Justice V. C. R. A. C. Crabbe, Sole Statute Law Revision Commissioner, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana and Co-Chair of the Coalition for Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), was the plenary Speaker. In an inspiring speech, Justice Crabbe attributed Ghana’s developmental challenges primarily to a lack of planning. Long-term planning, his Lordship said, is the key to proper resource management and the attainment of our development goals. He said “greater use of the National Development Planning Commission could be made to ensure that notwithstanding successive changes in government, there would be continuity in public policies and programmes”.
Three members of the University of Cape Coast Faculty of Law, namely Associate Professor (visiting) Kwaw, Ms. Julia E Selman-Ayetey and Dr. Bolanle Erinosho, presented papers. Mr Clement Akapame and Ms. Gloria Ofori-Boadu from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Policy (GIMPA) Faculty of Law, as well as two faculty members from the University of Ghana’s School of Law, Dr. Poku Adusei and Dr. P Atupare, also presented papers.
Lancaster University Ghana’s Law Department, who hosted the Colloquium, was represented by Ms. Maame Abena S Mensa-Bonsu and Mr. Ernest Owusu-Dapaa.
Papers covered a wide area of topics including the role of custom in the growth of commerce and commercial law, judicial supremacy in Ghana, the nature of judicial duty, adopting a trans systemic approach to the study of the legal system, the legal regime on surrogacy in Ghana, the role of children in the development of Ghana, etc.
Each 20 minute paper presentation was followed by a lively, and often heated Q&A/ discussion session. Moderators had to be firm about moving on to the next paper as each presentation, question and comment stimulated further reaction from the participants.
Following the successful inaugural colloquium, authors were invited to submit their papers for a journal to be published by Lancaster University Ghana after a blind peer-review has been completed. The journal is scheduled to be launched in the summer.
We are very proud of the success of the inaugural edition of the Lancaster University Ghana Law Colloquium and look forward to the second edition of this important event.
A Call for Papers for the second edition of the Colloquium will be made in October 2015.
