Chaos erupted during the vetting process for a Supreme Court nominee after the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, raised concerns about the president’s authority to appoint more than ten Supreme Court justices.
The issue emerged on Tuesday, August 13, during the vetting of Justice Sophia Rosetta Oduokwu Bernasko Essah by the Appointments Committee of Parliament.
Mr Ayariga’s objections triggered a heated 40-minute debate among committee members, as reported by graphic.com.gh.
Mr Ayariga pointed out that with 15 justices currently on the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, and with two justices set to retire soon, the president’s move to nominate more justices was questionable.
He argued that while Article 144 of the constitution mandates the president to appoint justices, it does not authorize the president to exceed the minimum number of justices outlined in Article 128 (1), which specifies nine justices plus the chief justice.
“As we speak, we have 15 justices on the Supreme Court. We are told that one is retiring. We have 15 justices on the Supreme Court. It means that we have nine plus the chief justice making 10 and an additional five making it 15. This letter states that two of the 15 are about to retire.
“The president is seeking to make early arrangements to make sure that there’s no vacuum when the two do retire…The legal issue that I’m raising before this committee, which should be captured in our report for discussion, is this. Whereas the constitution in article 144 says the president shall appoint the justices, there’s nowhere in this constitution that the president is given the power to increase the number beyond the nine plus one.”
“…I challenge anybody in this room to show me any provision in this constitution that says that even though article 128 (1) says nine plus chief justice at a minimum, and you don’t have an upper [ceiling]. The person to decide that upper [ceiling] is the president. Who said the person to decide the upper [ceiling] is the president? Who? To show who’s provision?” he said.
The intense discussion led the committee chairperson, Patricia Appiagyei, to adjourn the session temporarily.
Upon resuming, the committee experienced notable tension between its members, who included both National Democratic Congress and New Patriotic Party MPs.