The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has condemned the Chief Justice’s decision to recommend judges for nomination to the Supreme Court, describing the proposal as unconstitutional.
Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Torkornoo has proposed five judges to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for nomination to the Supreme Court to manage the high volume of current cases.
During a press conference in Accra, NDC General Secretary Fifi Fiavi Kwetey stated that the constitution does not mandate the Chief Justice to recommend individuals to the President for nomination as Supreme Court judges.
He described the Chief Justice’s letter to President Akufo-Addo as having no constitutional basis and therefore of no effect.
According to him, “Nowhere in the constitution is the Chief Justice named as the one to recommend persons to the president for appointment to the Supreme Court. We wish to state, without any equivocation, that the Chief Justice’s letter is illegal and of no effect”.
He continued that, “Her actions have completely turned over due process on its head and compromised her independence as the head of the judicial system. We are concerned about a worrying pattern that irresistibly suggests that the president is only appointing loyal members of his party to this court to have control over the judiciary to escape post-regime accountability”.
The names recommended for nomination to the Supreme Court include Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botchwey, the presiding judge in the ambulance case involving Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as well as Justice Cyra Pamela Koranteng, Justice Edward, Amoako Asante, Justice Eric Kyei Baffuour, and Justice Angelina Mensah Homiah.
