'Amorphous and meaningless' – Former Director of Ghana School of Law berates Supreme Court over vacant seats ruling

A former Director of the Ghana School of Law, Kwaku Ansa-Asare, has criticized the decision by a five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice, for granting an application for a stay of execution against the declaration of four seats as vacant by the Speaker of Parliament.

According to Ansa-Asare, the decision by the apex court has set the grounds for "constitutional lawlessness."

In a report by 3news.com, the former Director of the Ghana School of Law is said to have cited procedural lapses in the Court's decision, noting that "its jurisdiction was not properly invoked" because the Speaker and Attorney-General, who were parties in the case, were not heard.

He further described the ruling by the court as "amorphous and meaningless" during an appearance on TV3's Keypoints program on Saturday, October 19, 2024.

"The Supreme Court's jurisdiction was not invoked, so whatever the Supreme Court did yesterday constituted nullity. It was wrong to serve the Speaker through the legal department; it must be done yourself or by the Clerk.

"What the Supreme Court did yesterday amounted to provocation of Parliament. What the five Justices did yesterday amounted to contempt of court. What the court ought to have done yesterday was to grant a ten-day stay of execution, no more, no less. We are looking forward to a constitutional showdown on Tuesday when Parliament resumes," Kwaku Ansa-Asare stated.

Speaker Bagbin, on Thursday, October 17, 2024, declared four seats vacant in accordance with Article 97 (g) and (h) of the 1992 Constitution.

As part of his ruling, the Speaker also cited precedent in the 2020 case of Fomena MP Andrew Amoako Asiamah.

However, on Friday, October 18, 2024, the Supreme Court issued a stay of execution on Speaker Alban Bagbin's ruling, which declared four parliamentary seats vacant.

Parliament has thus been directed to recognize and allow the affected MPs—Cynthia Morrison (Agona West), Kwadjo Asante (Suhum), Peter Kwakye Ackah (Amenfi Central), and Andrew Asiamah (Fomena)—to fully represent their constituencies and carry out their official duties.

The directive remains in effect, not for the ten days initially requested by the applicants, but until the Supreme Court delivers its final ruling on the case.

The application to stay the Speaker's decision was filed by New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament, who sought the Court's intervention to halt the enforcement of the ruling that would have affected three of their colleagues and one from the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The application was filed ex parte, meaning that neither Speaker Bagbin nor Parliament was joined to the case.

GA

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