A lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ghana, Legon, Kissi Adjabeng says it is highly dangerous for the State to leave the law on contempt 'undefined' and at the discretion of judges.
According to Mr. Adjabeng, the constitution has neither clearly defined the law on contempt nor prescribed the punishment for it; it virtually leaves the liberty of the individual at the discretion of the judge.
His comments come in the wake of the convictions handed down New Patriotic Party General Secretary Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie and another for comments the Supreme Court panel hearing the presidential election petition say scandalised the court.
Speaking on the Super Morning Show on Joy FM Thursday, Mr. Kissi Adjabeng noted that; "when it has to do with speech [the law on contempt] is not clear especially that thin line between criticism and bringing the administration of justice into disrepute or scandalising the court".
The nine-member panel of judges adjudicating the petition challenging the presidency of John Mahama as declared by the Electoral Commission after the December 2012 presidential election, has sent a strong signal to the public regarding its abhorrence for contemptuous comments relating to hearing of the matter.
So fa,r four persons - Ken Kuranchie; a journalist, Stephen Atubiga; a communicator for the governing National Democratic Congress, Owusu Afriyie and Hopeson Adorye - have been found guilty of criminal contempt and handed varied degrees of punishments.
Sammy Awuku, a deputy Communications Director of the NPP, also charged with the offence of contempt was lucky to escape jail or a fine. He was, however, banned from attending the court's proceedings.
But Mr. Adjabeng, who is also a private legal practitioner foresees difficult times ahead, should judges at the lower courts decide to emulate the example set by the Supreme Court.
"If we are not careful and some judges take a cue from this [arbitrary application of the law of contempt], we will all have the worse for it...because the concept of contempt in Ghana has not really been defined and the punishment has not been prescribed, you have it at the total discretion... of the judge," he warned.
"If we get an animal such as contempt [chasing citizens] then perhaps we owe it to ourselves to make things clearer," he stated further. Chequered political history
Meanwhile, Governance expert, Dr. Emmanuel Akwetey, has described the move by the Supreme Court as "a fine opportunity" to "dismantle" the monopoly of executive power.
Dr. Akwetey who is also the Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), observed that the chequered political history of the country has by default, seen power accumulate to the executive arm of government adding, that "needs to be limited".
He blamed the political parties for overly concentrating on elections to the neglect of their civic duty of educating their followers on the need to know their civic duties and how to discharge them.
