A team of lawyers would soon be challenging an aspect the National Reconciliation Commissions (NRC) work in court.
They are not sure that the NRC has any legal powers to take evidence in connection with the 1982 murder of the three High Court Judges and army officer. The Ghanaian lawyers, with the help of a group of foreign ones from Nigeria and the United Kingdom are said to have been ?brainstorming for the past here weeks to prove their legal points in court.?
Should they carry through their threat to go to court, it would most probably be a re-play of the drama that surrounded Tsatsu Tsikata?s Supreme Court challenge of the legality of the Fast Track Courts in 2001.
A source close to the lawyers told the ADM in an interview that the National Reconciliation Commission does not have the ?mandate to reopen the judges? murder or call witnesses to come and testify in connection with that case.
?They contend that so far as a ?competent court of law had already dealt with that case and the culprits have been convicted and executed the NRC as quasi-judicial body can not go into it again. ?They said if there is any fresh evidence at all in connection with the judges? case it is ?only the Attorney-General who can investigate and process it for re-trial and not any other institution.?
They said since a court had already looked into the matter and given a judgement it is only that same court that can re-open the case and not the NRC. The head of the legal department of the NRC, Mr. Mingle told the ADM that the NRC has all the powers to look into the case again and make recommendations to the government.
