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The Attorney General, Dr Dominic Ayine, has firmly rejected a joint statement issued by the Bar Council of England and Wales (BCEW) and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) which criticised the suspension of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
According to Dr Ayine, the suspension fully accords with the provisions of Ghana’s Constitution and will remain in force until the conclusion of a judicial inquiry.
In a detailed response released on Thursday, 15 August, the Attorney General accused the two legal associations of making pronouncements without familiarising themselves with the relevant constitutional framework and the facts of the matter.
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He stressed that the government’s decision did not amount to “a constitutional breach nor an executive overreach.”
Dr Ayine explained that the suspension was undertaken in strict conformity with Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution, which outlines the procedure for addressing allegations against members of the judiciary.
The process, he noted, was triggered by three separate petitions submitted by Ghanaian citizens alleging “stated misbehaviour and incompetence” on the part of the Chief Justice. After receiving the petitions, the President sought advice from the Council of State, composed of eminent statesmen.
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The Council reviewed both the petitions and the Chief Justice’s written response before determining that a prima facie case had been established. Following this, an independent inquiry committee was set up, chaired by a Justice of the Supreme Court.
The Attorney General further disclosed that the Chief Justice and her lawyers had attempted to halt the proceedings by seeking injunctions and judicial reviews.
However, both the Supreme Court and the High Court dismissed their applications as “lacking in merit.” He added that the Chief Justice has since taken the matter before the ECOWAS Court, where the Government of Ghana is defending its position.
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Dr Ayine observed that it was ironic for the BCEW and CLA to advance arguments that have already been rejected by Ghana’s own courts.
He affirmed that the suspension of the Chief Justice would remain in place until the inquiry committee has concluded its work and presented its report, emphasising that under Article 146, the President is bound by the committee’s findings and cannot act unilaterally.