Why Ghana is yet to file a response to Torkornoo's case at the ECOWAS Court

The Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Justice Srem Sai, has clarified why the government has not yet filed its defense with the ECOWAS Court regarding a suit from former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.

According to him, a defense has not yet been filed because they raised an objection about the ECOWAS Court’s jurisdiction in hearing the case.

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He indicated that though they had a 30-day window to present its defense, they have been served with a new process from the court indicating that Justice Torkornoo is seeking a judgment in her favor due to their failure to submit a defense.

Speaking in a TV3 interview on September 4, 2025, he said; “This dawn, we woke up to another process which was served on us from the court that the former Chief Justice is seeking judgment in default of defense. In other words, we've not defended the substantive suit; we had 30 days to do that and so we have not filed our defense.”

“…but our preliminary thought is that, if we are objecting to the jurisdiction of the court, and the court has taken arguments and has adjourned to give a ruling one way or the other, we do not exactly think that we have to file on the substantive issue. This is because the question before the court is whether the court has jurisdiction or not,” he stated.

Justice Srem Sai argued that although the ECOWAS Court heard submissions from both parties on the issue of jurisdiction, it proceeded to adjourn the case without providing any further instructions or give a deadline for when the Attorney General should file a defense along with the preliminary objection.

He indicated that they were waiting for the court’s decision before proceeding to file their defense.

“The court has to clear that aspect first and when it says that it has jurisdiction to assume, then they will order us to file our defense. Indeed, if the court was interested, it could have ordered that we should file our defense together with our preliminary objection because we were heard,” he indicated.

“It's not as if we argued that matter in the ECOWAS Court, and we were not heard. The court in adjourning didn't give any further direction. They told us that they are rising and then they have adjourned the case indefinitely, and when they come back, they will give us further directions. So, we were waiting for the court to give us further direction only to be served with a notice for default of defense. We would have to file to oppose the application for default judgment,” he added.

Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, the former Chief Justice filed a lawsuit against the government of Ghana at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja, Nigeria, on July 4, 2025, challenging her suspension on April 22, 2025, by President John Dramani Mahama.

She alleged that her suspension, prompted by three petitions accusing her of misconduct, violated her human rights to a fair hearing, dignity, and fair working conditions under Articles 5, 7, and 15 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

FULL TEXT: Read leaked termination letter of Justice Torkornoo

Torkornoo asked the court to award her $10 million in compensation for moral and reputational damages, revocation of her suspension, and a halt to the removal proceedings against her, arguing that the process was arbitrary and lacked transparency.

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