Gertrude Torkornoo takes legal action to stop appointment of new Chief Justice

Former Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo has filed a fresh suit at the High Court, seeking to stop the vetting and appointment of a new Chief Justice while she challenges the process that led to her removal from office.

In her application, filed in Accra this week, Justice Torkornoo is asking the court to prohibit any steps toward the nomination, vetting, or swearing-in of her replacement until her judicial review case is determined.

The former Chief Justice contends that the proceedings of the five-member Article 146 committee that recommended her removal were unconstitutional, unfair, and biased. She is seeking orders of certiorari to quash the committee’s findings and to declare her removal unlawful.

Justice Torkornoo also wants the court to restrain the government from proceeding with the appointment of Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, who has been mentioned as a possible successor, until her case is fully heard. Her legal team argues that appointing a new Chief Justice while the legitimacy of the removal process is under review would be premature and unjust.

Her latest legal action follows her earlier attempts to challenge her suspension and removal, as well as to secure outstanding entitlements she claims remain unpaid. The case adds to the growing public debate about judicial independence and executive interference in the judiciary.