Gertrude Torkornoo’s return to the Bench not practical – UG’s Prof. Appiagyei-Atua
A legal expert and professor of law at the University of Ghana, Prof. Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua, has explained that while former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo has the legal right to seek reinstatement as a Justice of the Supreme Court, her return to the Bench may be impractical.
His comments come after the dismissed CJ Gertrude Torkornoo filed a Judicial Review Application on Wednesday, September 17, challenging her removal as a Justice of the Supreme Court which accompanied her dismissal as head of the Judiciary, and also argues that the President exceeded his powers and violated constitutional provisions governing the removal of justices of the superior court.
During an engagement with Channel 1 News on Thursday, September 18, Prof. Appiagyei-Atua acknowledged the legal merits of the dismissed CJ’s case but emphasized the need for constitutional amendments to prevent such ambiguities in the future.
“It also spells out why there is the need to really amend Article 146, because as it is now, I see a loophole there and that loophole is that you can be a Chief Justice but if you are removed, you can remain as a Supreme Court judge
“So, in that sense the practicality is that a toxic environment has been created, most of the decisions have been made against her, so how is she going to relate to her colleagues who made those decisions against her? That is where the gap is, and I thing that in practical terms, for me, it may be difficult for her to come back but in terms of law, I think she has that right to go there,” he said.
Background
On Monday, September 1, President John Dramani Mahama dismissed Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, after receiving the report of the committee of inquiry set up to investigate petitions that called for her removal earlier this year, ending months of injunctions and counter-petitions by the dismissed CJ, seeking to block her removal.
News of the dismissal triggered widespread conversations with many describing the dismissal as politically motivated and an attack on the Judiciary. However, NDC National Chairman previously dismissed these allegations and claims of Executive interference in the removal process, arguing that the Executive did not interfere but rather undertook its responsibilities as far as upholding the Constitution was concerned.
On allegations of breaching due process, the NDC Chairman highlighted that the Constitution mandates citizens to petition for the removal of a Chief Justice on specific grounds, after which some procedures will be followed, adding that all these laid down procedures have been followed to the letter.
“We have not sat anywhere to take a decision that this is what NDC is going to do to the Judiciary,” he said “but we said that we will reset state institutions which are not functioning according to the way they should function in a democracy,” he said.
About The Author
