Justice Ellen Ofei-Ayeh addressing the media yesterday
The Judicial Service (JS) has indicated that the Supreme Court is ready to hear every matter, including the case challenging the passage of the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill (Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill), where parties have complied with the rules of court directing the processes to be filed before a hearing is held.
The Registrar of the Supreme Court, Justice Ellen Ofei-Ayeh, during a press briefing yesterday indicated that the delay in hearing of the two cases challenging the passage of the bill was occasioned by a failure on the part of the parties to file their processes as directed by the court.
There has been public outcry about the delay in the hearing of the case, as the Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Sam George, who is one of the sponsors of the bill, is organising a demonstration against the delay.
But the Judiciary has stated that the parties have still not completed the processes they were required to file before the Supreme Court can hear any case.
Justice Ofei-Ayeh also disclosed that lawyer for Parliament, Thaddeus Sory, has filed an application asking the Supreme Court to give permission for Parliament to file its defence even though they had exceeded the 14 days set by the Supreme Court rules.
That notwithstanding, she said the application will be heard within the first week of Supreme Court sitting, between October 15 and 17, 2024.
She assured the general public that the Supreme Court registry is ready to receive all processes that need to be filed.
Bill
Parliament on February 28, 2024 passed the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, often referred to as the Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, which introduced further punishment for gay activities in the country.
The bill, among other things, advocates prison terms for those who take part in LGBTQ+ sexual acts, as well as those who promote the rights of gay, lesbian or other non-conventional sexual or gender identities in Ghana.
Suits
Dr. Amanda Odoi and broadcast journalist Richard Dela Sky have filed two separate suits before the court challenging the constitutionality of the bill passed by Parliament in February this year.
In the case of the suit filed by Dr. Amanda Odoi, which was filed in June 2023, Parliament filed its defence in the form of a Statement of Case in March 2024, instead of the 14 days permitted by the rules of the Supreme Court.
The Office of the Attorney General is yet to file a response to this suit and the three parties have not filed the issues to be decided by the court as directed by the Supreme Court Rules, 1996, Cl 16.
In the case of the suit filed by Richard Sky, neither Parliament nor the Attorney General has a filed a defence in the form of a statement of case, and all three parties have not filed the needed memorandum of issues that they need the court to settle.
These, according to the Judicial Service, has occasioned the delays in the hearing of the two cases.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak