Recommendation of judges to Akufo-Addo: I can’t understand why the Chief Justice would do this - Mahama

The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama, has called out Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo over her recommendation of justices for appointment to the Supreme Court to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

According to Mahama, it is strange that the Chief Justice would be the one recommending judges for appointment to the apex court of the land.

Speaking at a media encounter in Accra on Sunday, July 7, 2024, the former president said that the 1992 Constitution clearly states that the President of the Republic should be the one nominating judges for appointment.

"I can’t understand why the Chief Justice will be the one recommending which judges to appoint. The Constitution is clear that it is the president who appoints judges with the advice of the Judicial Council. And so, the initiative to appoint judges must come from the president and be submitted to the Judicial Council; he brings it back with advice, and the president then forwards it to parliament; that is the procedure.

"It is very rare that this time the recommendation comes from the chief justice to the president," the former president said.

Mahama also indicated that Justice Torkornoo has no business speaking on issues of the capping of justices at the highest court in the land.

He said that the Constitution Review Committee set up during the era of former President John Evans Atta Mills recommended that the number of judges at the court not exceed 15.

"And even capping the number of judges, the Constitutional Review Committee recommended that we cap Supreme Court judges at 15, so the issue of capping the Supreme Court judges is not for the Chief Justice to say.

"We will resurrect the constitutional review process when I become President, and when we do that, we will put it to the Ghanaian people whether we should retain the 15, whether we should reduce it, or whether we should increase it. I don’t think that it should be the Chief Justice saying that we should increase and cap at 15," he added.

Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo has faced significant criticism in recent days for petitioning President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to appoint five new judges to the Supreme Court of Ghana.

Legal experts, including US-based Ghanaian lawyer and scholar Prof. Stephen Kwaku Asare, argue that the Chief Justice’s actions violate Article 114(2) of the 1992 Constitution, which stipulates that the Judicial Council, not the Chief Justice, should nominate justices to the Supreme Court.

Pro-government Asaase Radio has shared details of the letter requesting the appointment of the five judges: Justice Edward Amoako Asante, Justice Eric Kyei Baffuor, Justice Angelina Mensah Homiah, Justice Cyra Pamela Koranteng, and Justice Afua Asare Botwe. The letter included a detailed analysis justifying the need for these appointments.

The media house's report also indicates that the Office of the Attorney General and the Ghana Bar Association endorsed the nominations by Justice Torkornoo to President Akufo-Addo.

BAI/ ADG

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