Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo
The Attorney General and Minister for Justice (AG) and the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) have lent their support to the request by the Chief Justice (CJ) for five more judges to be appointed to the Supreme Court due to the workload and schedule of the court.
The Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, in his comment to the President on the Chief Justice’s request, indicated that in the absence of a constitutionally determined upper threshold, the question of the number of judges required for the Supreme Court is a function of the administration of justice and the needs of the court.
The GBA, on the other hand, also agreed to an increase but opined that the CJ’s request in the manner in which it was made would require a constitutional amendment.
CJ’s Brief
The Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, in a brief to the President in February this year, analysed the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, the number of judges required for the exercise of its jurisdictions, and the number of judges the Supreme Court has had since 2018.
The brief also touched on the number of cases the Supreme Court hears every year, how their work load has been impacted severely, and how there is a real need to increase the number to 20.
It stated justifications for increasing the number of Supreme Court judges from 15 to a minimum of 20, including the Chief Justice, acknowledging the fact that there have been extensive calls for the reduction of the jurisdictions of the Supreme Court, in order to reduce the work load of the court, and refine its work in overseeing Ghana’s constitutional order.
The brief indicates that two days are used for panel sitting, and one day for the sitting of a single judge, and the Supreme Court therefore sits 12 times a month.
It said on any given day of sitting, the court deals with a minimum of 15 cases, and so works on not fewer than 45 matters in a week or approximately 180 matters in a month.
The CJ’s brief pointed out that with the current limited number of 15 Justices including the Chief Justice, and with recusals necessitated by the oft-occurring situation where judges of the Supreme Court either sat on a matter on appeal in the Court of Appeal, or presided over the trial of a case on appeal, it is almost impossible to create two stand-alone panels in any given week.
Requests
Justice Torkornoo therefore requested President Akufo-Addo to consider the appointment of an additional five (5), bringing the number to 20 judges to the Supreme Court, to ensure the speedy resolution of cases, and speedy delivery of final decisions for the nation.
“This number will enable the setting of stand-alone panels of 5 and 7 or 9 judges to work on any set of cases on a given day, depending on the jurisdiction of the court being exercised in any given week, thereby reducing the specter of constantly reconstituted panels during a day’s sitting.”
AG’s Opinion
The Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, in his response to the President, extensively compared Ghana’s Supreme Court to the Supreme Courts of other jurisdictions, including United Kingdom, Canada, Kenya, South Africa, United States of America and other countries of the Common Law tradition.
The AG observed that the Supreme Courts of the UK, Canada, Kenya and most common law traditions exercise only an appellate jurisdiction as the final court of appeal in those countries, with the right to appeal to those courts circumscribed by various requirements of leave and a satisfaction of a threshold to appeal. Thus, only a few cases are actually dealt with by those courts in a year.
GBA’s Position
The Ghana Bar Association, in response to the President, indicated that they agree with the request of the Chief Justice in principle but opined that the Chief Justice’s request should have been in respect of the need to increase the conventional number of Justices of the Supreme Court at present to twenty, as the 1992 Constitution, per Article 128(1) prescribes the minimum Justices of the Supreme Court to consist of the Chief Justice and a minimum of nine other Justices.
“Therefore, requesting that the minimum number of Justices of the Supreme Court should be twenty will require a constitutional amendment, which is not the intention of the brief from the Chief Justice,” it disclosed.
The GBA stated that each of the Justices of the Supreme Court be given a well-resourced secretariat with a properly stocked library, properly trained and highly qualified and skillful clerks as well as research assistants and other secretarial staffs.
It also suggested that the Supreme Court should be automated so that there can be real time recording of the proceedings of the Supreme Court.
“That there should be an upward review of the conventional number of Justices of the Supreme Court after every ten (10) years, if the instant request for an increment in the conventional number of sitting Justices of the Supreme Court to twenty is granted,” it added.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak