Chief Justice Torkornoo issues directives regarding serving of court processes to parliamentary officials

Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo has issued a new directive outlining the procedures for serving court processes to key parliamentary officials, directed to Registrars and Court Bailiffs.

The directive specifies procedures for serving the Speaker of Parliament, the Clerk of Parliament, and Members of Parliament (MPs).

According to a report by adomonline.com, court processes intended for the Speaker of Parliament are now to be served to the Legal Department of the Parliamentary Service, strictly on Mondays during working hours.

Additionally, court processes for the Clerk of Parliament should be served between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Mondays or on any weekday from Tuesday to Friday, with this procedure in place even during Parliamentary recesses.

The Clerk is also tasked with notifying the Judiciary of Parliament’s recess schedule.

Processes directed to Members of Parliament should be served on Mondays or between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. from Tuesday to Friday, including during Parliamentary recesses.

According to adomonline.com, these new directives follow concerns raised by Speaker Alban Bagbin, who alerted the Chief Justice about potential breaches of Articles 117 and 118 of the 1992 Constitution.

The Speaker informed the Chief Justice that court processes had been served to MPs, the Speaker, and the Clerk while they were engaged in official Parliamentary duties, risking disruptions to their work.

Article 117 of the Constitution stipulates: “Civil or criminal process coming from any court or place out of Parliament shall not be served on, or executed in relation to, the Speaker or a member or the Clerk of Parliament while he is on his way to, attending at, or returning from any proceedings of Parliament.”

Article 118 (1) further provides that “Neither the Speaker, nor a member of, nor the Clerk to Parliament shall be compelled while attending Parliament to appear as a witness in any court or place out of Parliament.”

Additionally, Article 118 (2) states: “The certificate of the Speaker that a member or the Clerk is attending the proceedings of Parliament is conclusive evidence of attendance at Parliament.”

The circular emphasizes that the provisions in Articles 117 and 118 of the 1992 Constitution ensure that the Speaker of Parliament, MPs, and the Clerk cannot be served with court processes or compelled to appear as witnesses in court while Parliament is in session.

Exceptions to this rule are allowed only if Parliament is not in session or if the Speaker certifies that the officeholder was neither on their way to, attending, nor returning from Parliamentary proceedings.

MAG/OGB