Chief Justice rejects GBA’s position on lawyers refusing to appear during legal vacation

Nii Ayitey Brown 13:58 - 11 August 2026

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Paul Kwadwo Baffoe-Bonnie, Chief Justice of Ghana

Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie has rejected the GBA’s position on lawyers refusing to appear during legal vacation, saying judges have the authority to hear scheduled cases.

Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie says lawyers cannot refuse to appear in court simply because a case is scheduled during the legal vacation.
The GBA had argued that lawyers who are unavailable during the vacation should not be compelled to attend proceedings.
The Chief Justice maintains that adjournments are judicial decisions and must be determined by the judge handling the case, not the Chief Justice or lawyers.

Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie has rejected concerns raised by the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) over lawyers being required to appear in court during the ongoing legal vacation, insisting that lawyers cannot unilaterally decide not to attend a case because it has been scheduled during the break.

Paul Kwadwo Baffoe-Bonnie, Chief Justice of Ghana

The Chief Justice noted that judges who are sitting during the vacation have the authority to hear cases listed before them.

He made these remarks at the 2nd Quadrennial Delegates Congress of the Senior Staff Association of the Judicial Service of Ghana in Sunyani on Monday, August 10.

His comments come after the GBA in a letter, protested notices served on lawyers requiring them to appear before judges assigned to continue with some part-heard criminal cases during the legal vacation.

The GBA had argued that lawyers who had already indicated that they were unavailable during the vacation should not be forced to appear.

Bhana Bar Association logo

But the Chief Justice said a lawyer's personal plans during the vacation cannot prevent a judge from hearing a case.

“You are a lawyer, you have your clients. If your clients decide to give you leave, well, go on leave but you cannot say that there is a legal vacation and the Judge who is actually sitting cannot do your case, no that is not it,” he noted.

Justice Baffoe-Bonnie also rejected claims and suggestions that the Chief Justice is responsible for deciding whether cases should be adjourned during the legal vacation.

He stressed that the decision to adjourn a case belongs to the judge hearing it.

“No, adjournments are not at the instance of the Chief Justice, adjournment is a judicial act. This is something that is so basic,” he said.

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The GBA on the other hand has also warned that forcing lawyers to attend could affect the rights of accused persons who depend on legal representation.

The association argued that an accused person should not be forced to represent themselves simply because their lawyer is unavailable during the legal vacation.

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