Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo
The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, adjourned proceedings in the suit filed by New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, challenging the ongoing process for the potential removal of the Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
The MP is requesting that the court declares the consultation process with the Council of State by President John Dramani Mahama regarding the removal of the Chief Justice as unconstitutional.
The court had set April 9 to commence hearing the case, but it was adjourned after the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, reportedly failed to appear.
According to former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Dame, who is lead counsel for Assafuah, Dr Ayine gave the excuse that state attorneys were attending a conference.
Dame criticised the Attorney General’s absence, arguing that he should have appeared in court or delegated the matter to his deputy, given that neither of them is a state attorney.
“It is quite odd for him to say that state attorneys are at a conference, and for that matter, all the cases in the country should be adjourned. He (Dr Ayine) is not a state attorney. He could have come to court for a matter as important as the removal of the Chief Justice,” Dame said.
Details of the case:
In the application filed through his legal team, Dame and Partners Unlimited, Assafuah argues that based on a proper interpretation of the 1992 Constitution by the apex court, the Chief Justice must be furnished with copies of the petitions submitted to the president for her removal before any consultation with the Council of State can occur.
Assafuah maintains that Article 146 of the constitution mandates the president to notify the Chief Justice of the petition seeking her removal and to obtain her response before initiating the consultation process with the Council of State.
He is, therefore, asking the court to declare that President Mahama’s failure to comply with this constitutional requirement, and his decision to forward the petitions to the Council of State for further action, is null, void, and of no effect.
The MP made this known on his social media platforms, sharing a copy of the writ filed at the Supreme Court on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
His suit follows the president’s announcement, made through the Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, that three petitions demanding the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo would be referred to the Council of State for consultation.
Assafuah’s reliefs before the court:
(i) A declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of Articles 146(1), (2), (4), (6) and (7), 23, 57(3) and 296 of the Constitution, the President is mandated to notify the Chief Justice about a petition for her removal and obtain her comments and responses before referring the petition to the Council of State or commencing the consultation process.
(ii) A declaration that failure by the President to notify the Chief Justice and obtain her comments before triggering the consultation process constitutes a violation of Article 146(6), and infringes on the constitutional protection of the Chief Justice’s security of tenure, as stipulated in Article 146(1).
(iii) A declaration that such failure amounts to unjustified interference with the independence of the judiciary, in breach of Articles 127(1) and (2).
(iv) A declaration that the failure to notify the Chief Justice and obtain her response constitutes a violation of the right to a fair hearing, under Articles 23 and 296, and renders the consultation process initiated by the President null, void, and of no effect.
(v) Any other order(s) as this Honourable Court may deem appropriate.
BAI/AE
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