The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) will, from June 2008, establish an awards scheme to honour lawyers who provide efficient and effective legal services for the poor in the society at minimal cost. The move is to attract more legal practitioners to defend and prosecute the human and legal rights of such people to enable them to carry out their economic, social and political activities in freedom. The President of the GBA, Nii Osah Mills, who announced this in Accra at the inauguration of the reconstituted committees of the association on Thursday, said most lawyers shied away from providing legal services for the poor in society because of the unattractive remuneration. The legal aid scheme is established to provide legal advice and assistance for those who may be deprived of those services because they cannot afford to pay for such services. A person is entitled to legal aid in connection with any proceedings relating to the Constitution if he or she has reasonable grounds for taking, defending, prosecuting or being a party to the proceedings. Nii Mills said currently the legal aid scheme could not operate satisfactorily in the regions because there was only one legal director in each of the ten regions, causing a gap in the justice delivery system in the country. He said the lack of access to justice was likely to create injustice, which might lead to wars and disturbances in the society. He urged the members of the committees to carry out their duties diligently, stressing that "with this, you are performing your perfect duty". Nii Mills announced that the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Wood, had released new offices for the ser¬vices of members. He also appealed to members of the GBA to register their chambers to enable the association to have an accurate database of its members. A senior lawyer, Mr T.A. Nelson, in an acceptance speech, called on members of the association to co-operate in the dispensation of justice in the society. He expressed concern over the way some magistrates and judges deliberately ridiculed lawyers in court and urged affected lawyers to report such incidents to the authorities. The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Joe Ghartey, urged members of the committees to educate and create awareness of the service throughout the country. Source: Daily Graphic