General News of 2026-09-03
Unnecessary interlocutory appeals at the Supreme Court are delaying justice - Ex-Chief Justice Akuffo
Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo says unnecessary interlocutory appeals to the Supreme Court are contributing to delays in the administration of justice, arguing for tighter limits on which cases should reach the country's highest court.
Speaking on Channel One TV's The Point of View on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, she explained that some cases reach the Supreme Court even though the substantive matters remain pending before the High Court.
"Sometimes there are also some matters which come to the Supreme Court only on what is called interlocutory appeal, which is so unnecessary and shouldn't have come to the Supreme Court because the case itself might still be in the High Court," she said.
Akuffo said such appeals can take years to determine, further delaying the resolution of the substantive cases they stem from — meaning parties are often left waiting on a side issue before the core matter can even proceed.
Her argument centres on the Court of Appeal absorbing more of this load. She said cases that do not raise new legal questions or significant constitutional issues should be resolved there, rather than being escalated further.
"A lot of other matters should end in the Court of Appeals if they don't raise new issues or very sensitive constitutional issues," she said.
