Former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo
The ECOWAS Community Court last Friday dismissed the Attorney General’s objection to former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo amending her initiating suit before the court challenging her suspension and eventual dismissal.
The former Chief Justice had filed an application through her lawyer, Femi Falana, to amend her statement of case to include the fact that while her application challenging her suspension was pending before the court, the Government of Ghana went ahead to remove her from office as the Chief Justice and also as a Justice of the Supreme Court.
Even before the application was moved, Deputy Attorney General, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai opposed the filing of the application, indicating that “to prevent an abuse of the court process and prevent undue delay, we believe that this amendment should not be allowed at this point.”
Mr. Falana disagreed, arguing that at the time the initiating application was filed the applicant was suspended as the Chief Justice of Ghana.
“Notwithstanding the pendency of this matter, the respondent has since dismissed the applicant as the Chief Justice of Ghana. We, therefore, needed to bring that to the court by amending our originating application in line with the rules of this court,” he said.
He added that if the Attorney General thinks that the applicant has expanded her scope, he has the opportunity to challenge the claim.
“The situation we had when we filed our application last year has changed today and we have a duty to amend our claim to reflect the current situation. We cannot be talking of suspension when indeed the applicant has been dismissed. That is the essence of the application,” he added.
The three-member panel comprising Justices Sengu M. Koroma (presiding), Dupe Atoki, and Gberi-be Ouattara, turned down the opposition and allowed Mr. Falana to move the application.
Mr. Falana, in moving the application, said the applicant had already filed the amended initiating application and was only asking the court to deem it as properly being filed.
He said during the pendency of the suit, Mrs. Torkornoo was removed both as a judge of the Supreme Court and as the Chief Justice of Ghana in breach of the rules.
He pointed out that the essence of the application was to ensure that the applicant does not file a separate action challenging the removal as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana and as the Chief Justice of Ghana.
“At the time he filed this application we could not have envisaged that the applicant would be removed from office. Now that she has been removed from office, while we continue to challenge the suspension for violating her right to fair hearing, we are also challenging her removal from office again for violating her right to fair hearing,” Mr. Falana added.
Opposition
Dr. Srem-Sai opposed the application on grounds that it was based on a fundamental misapprehension of the law on the matter and that the court allowing same would only be a complete waste of its time.
The Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana occupies a number of positions and the Chief Justice occupies those positions ex officio (by virtue of office) by the fact that he or she is the Chief Justice.
The court after listening to both sides granted the application, noting the need to “avoid a multiplicity of actions, since all the issues herein are derived from the same set of circumstances.”
The Attorney General was given 30 days within which to file an amended defence. The court added that it will issue hearing notices for the next hearing date.
Suit
Justice Torkornoo, in an application filed before the court, alleges breaches of her rights to dignity, fair hearing and right to work when President John Dramani Mahama suspended her on April 22, 2025, following the setting up of a committee to probe three petitions calling for her removal from office.
She argues among others, a violation of her right to a fair hearing is grounded in the fact that she was not given a copy of either the supposed prima facie determination or the reasons for the making of a prima facie finding by the President, before the President and the committee formed, suspended her.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak