The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has raised concerns over the procedure followed by Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo in recommending additional judges to the Supreme Court.
In a letter to President Akufo-Addo, Chief Justice Torkornoo cited a heavy workload and numerous pending cases as reasons for the nominations, which has sparked criticism from legal experts and the opposition NDC.
GBA spokesperson Saviour Kudze said the Chief Justice’s action was irregular.
“I think that it is just a simple mistake and that is the way I should think because I am not sure that it was intentional. These things sometimes happen,” he added.
According to Kudze, the correct procedure involves all recommending bodies GBA, Attorney General’s Office, and the CJ’s Office submitting their nominees to the Judicial Council.
“What is done is that the three recommending bodies, the GBA, the Attorney General’s Office and the CJ’s Office bring various lists and submit to the Judicial Council. The Judicial Council will now send those names with an advice to the President and the President will now decide to appoint everybody on the list, or some of them or even reject the list.
“Just that he also does not have the right to prepare his own list. He has to get back to the Judicial Council for the process to begin all over,” he stressed.
The Judicial Council then forwards a consolidated list to the President for consideration, ensuring transparency and adherence to constitutional norms.
Meanwhile, the NDC has condemned the Chief Justice’s recommendation, arguing that it lacks constitutional backing.
“Nowhere in the constitution is the Chief Justice named as the one to recommend persons to the president for appointment to the Supreme Court. We wish to state, without any equivocation, that the Chief Justice’s letter is illegal and of no effect.
“Her actions have completely turned over due process on its head and compromised her independence as the head of the judicial system. We are concerned about a worrying pattern that irresistibly suggests that the president is only appointing loyal members of his party to this court to have control over the judiciary to escape post-regime accountability,” Fifi Fiavi Kwetey stated.
They assert that only the Judicial Council, not the Chief Justice individually, should recommend candidates for Supreme Court appointments to maintain judicial independence and uphold due process.
The nominees put forward by Chief Justice Torkornoo include Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botchwey, Justice Cyra Pamela Koranteng, Justice Edward Amoako Asante, Justice Eric Kyei Baffuour, and Justice Angelina Mensah Homiah.