Legal practitioner, Theophilus Dzimega Jnr
Legal practitioner, Theophilus Dzimega Jnr, has emphasised that the position of Chief Justice demands an individual with high moral integrity.
In an interview with GH One TV and monitored by GhanaWeb on Friday, April 25, 2025, he explained that beyond academic and professional qualifications, the Chief Justice must possess an unquestionable character.
“The qualifications to be a Chief justice, you need to demonstrate that you have a high moral character. So, someone might petition or send a memo to say, this person is not a person of high moral character,” he noted.
The legal practitioner also noted that discussions around the possible removal of a Chief Justice might be handled more discreetly due to the sensitivity of the matters involved.
“When you’re going to go into committee work about the removal of a Chief Justice, there may be things like fraud, there may be concerns about his or her character or even family issues. And you don’t want all those things out there in public for people to start to know,” he explained.
President John Dramani Mahama has suspended the Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, after determining that three petitions seeking her removal establish a prima facie case to warrant a probe.
In the wake of her suspension, Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court, is acting as Chief Justice.
This is pursuant to Article 144(6) of the 1992 Constitution, which allows the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court to act as the Chief Justice in the event the position of the Chief Justice becomes vacant or the substantive Chief Justice is unable to perform his or her functions, as pertains in this case where Justice Torkornoo is unable to perform her functions due to her suspension.
JKB/AE
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