By Stephen Asante, GNA
Kumasi, Jan. 27, GNA – Professor Kofi Oteng Kufuor, Co-General Editor of the African Journal of International and Comparative Law, has said Ghana must aspire to strengthen the legal framework underpinning the Rule of Law and democratic dispensation.
This would help to foster the independence of state institutions, freedom of expression, tolerance of divergent views, and empowering the citizenry to participate effectively in nation-building, he stated.
According to the Professor of Law, studies had shown that countries appreciating civil liberty and had enacted laws to build institutional efficiency, achieved accelerated transformation and socio-economic growth.
He was delivering a paper on the topic: “A Very Convenient Marriage: Law and Technology in the Quest for Economic Transformation”, at the maiden Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Faculty of Law ‘Eminent Legal Scholars Public Lecture Series’, at the Great Hall, in Kumasi.
Prof. Kufuor described the law as a public good, therefore, it was appropriate that good laws were enacted to bring about innovative ideas, technological know-how as the protection of intellectual property.
He cited how the Netherlands grew to become a powerhouse, saying “learning from their experiences under Spain, the law of the Dutch union protected the right to free expression, the right to form associations, and it held the state at arm’s length from the institutions of higher learning.
“Thus, the legal framework of the Dutch Republic set the stage for a flourishing of technology. On the back of this tolerance, scientists and technologists thrived as the country attracted scientists and other thinkers from all over Europe.”
He said in the search for sustainable development, it was important that developing countries such as Ghana, learned to put in place the right structures in governance devoid of the suppression of the rights of the people and state institutions.
Prof. Kufuor said technological advancement had helped to strengthen legal regimes in almost all fields of human endeavour – advancing the cause of humanity.
The advent of social media, according to him, had further created the knowledge base to create awareness on the emerging development trends globally and make life better for mankind.
Prof. Kufuor, who has been a Professor of Law at the University of East London since 2006, commended the KNUST for setting the stage for a multidisciplinary approach to legal education.
This, he said, was critical for the advancement of the Ghanaian society.
Prof. Mrs Rita Akosua Dickson, Vice-Chancellor of the KNUST, said the lecture series aimed to enhance intellectual discourse to chart the path for the nation to acquire knowledge from eminent scholars and those in other fields.
This is expected to improve the quality of life of the people for their wellbeing.
According to her, the University had envisaged becoming the leading provider of legal education, training the requisite human resource and experts to support socio-economic, technological, and industrial growth.
Prof. Dickson, who chaired the maiden lecture, commended the KNUST Faculty of Law for the choice of a theme relevant to the nation’s development aspirations.
“The rate at which technology is growing demands equal measure in law for transformation,” she noted.
The maiden lecture had in attendance a cross-section of legal luminaries and technocrats, research scientists, as well as some officers from the security agencies.
GNA
