Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Member of Parliament in Manhyia South says it is important to safeguard the office of the Chief Justice.
According to him, it is important to protect that office by ensuring that not every petition that will be acted on by the President.
Honourable Baffour Awuah also a private legal practitioner disclosed on Good Evening Ghana Show on Tuesday that the 1992 Constitution was silent on whether or not a prima facie case has to be established for the removal of the Chief Justice.
His comments come at the time when President John Mahama has initiated consultations with the Council of State following the submission of three petitions seeking the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo.
A statement issued by Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Minister for Government Communications, confirmed that the President had forwarded the petitions to the Council of State in line with Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution, which outlines the process for removing a Chief Justice.
Although details of the petitions remain undisclosed, the development marks the beginning of a formal constitutional process that could potentially lead to significant changes in the judiciary.
The Council of State is expected to review the petitions and advise the President on the appropriate course of action as stipulated in Article 146.
However, Honourable Baffour Awuah explained that Article 146 prescribes two proceedings- proceedings against Justices of the Superior Courts and Regional Tribunals and proceedings against the Chief Justice.
The Manhyia South Member of Parliament argued that in the case of the Chief Justice, she is a judge of the Superior Court before being made a Chief Justice so “there ought to be a prima facie case being established; more importantly to also protect the Chief Justice because it will unsettle any Chief Justice.”
This is not the first attempt to remove Chief Justice Torkornoo. Earlier this year, former President Nana Akufo-Addo dismissed a similar petition filed by Prof. Stephen Kwaku Asare, citing a lack of merit.
That petition accused the Chief Justice of misconduct and incompetence, specifically alleging irregularities in panel reconstitution, the issuance of practice directions, and constitutional breaches.
The removal of a Chief Justice is governed by Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution, which stipulates that a Justice of the Superior Court can only be removed for stated misbehaviour, incompetence, or incapacity due to infirmity.
The law requires that when such a petition is received, the President must act in consultation with the Council of State to appoint a committee to investigate the allegations.
This committee must include two Justices of the Supreme Court, one of whom serves as chairman, as well as three other individuals who are not members of Parliament, the Council of State, or the legal profession.
The committee is mandated to investigate the allegations and make recommendations to the President.
Meanwhile, the immediate past Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame has filed a lawsuit on behalf of his client, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Old Tafo, against the Attorney-General at the Supreme Court, challenging the procedural legality of President Mahama’s actions concerning the potential removal of the Chief Justice.
Assafuah, acting as a concerned citizen under Article 2(1)(b) of the 1992 Constitution, seeks several declarations from the Supreme Court, whose original jurisdiction he is invoking, regarding the interpretation of constitutional provisions governing the removal of a Chief Justice.
The suit argues that the President must notify the Chief Justice and obtain the comments of the Chief Justice before initiating consultation with the Council of State on the matter.