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Our legal system,
like so many other institutions in our state,
is a direct product of our colonial past. After
a few fitful starts, the Supreme Court of Judicature
for the Gold Coast Colony was established by ordinance
by the Imperial Parliament in Westminster in 1876.
It consisted of a Chief Justice and not more than
four puisne judges. Provision was further made
for a Full Court consisting of the Chief Justice
and one or two puisne judges which acted as a
Court of Appeal sitting in Accra and Lagos, which
was then administered as part of the Gold Coast
Colony. The Supreme Court was vested with the
same jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters
as was exercisable by the Court of Queen's Bench,
the Court of Common Pleas, and the Court of Exchequer.
It can be properly said that the establishment
of the Supreme Court constituted the commencement
of the legal profession in our country. Hence
the Bar's valid claim to be the most senior of
the professions in the nation.
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