The debate surrounding the dismissal of former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo’s application for interim measures at the ECOWAS Court has intensified, as Akwatia MP and private legal practitioner Hon. Bernard Bediako Baidoo insists the ruling was appropriate and constitutionally sound.
His comments follow the Court’s decision, a development that adds to a string of unsuccessful attempts by the former Chief Justice to halt or reverse her removal from office under President John Dramani Mahama’s administration.
Speaking on the matter, Hon. Baidoo argued that the ECOWAS Court acted correctly in throwing out the request for interim measures because the removal process had already run its full course in Ghana.
According to him, an injunction is impossible when the action being challenged is already concluded, maintaining that those who sought to revisit the matter at the regional court did so too late. “There is nothing to injunct because the process is complete,” he said.
Hon. Baidoo contended that the applicants had ample opportunity to seek relief earlier, when litigation was ongoing in Ghana’s courts. Attempting to obtain an injunction months after the committee had completed its work, the President had acted, and a new Chief Justice had been sworn in, was in his view procedurally unsustainable.
One of the major points of contention is the dismissal of preliminary objections raised by the Attorney-General over jurisdiction. The ECOWAS Court affirmed that it could hear the case, a position Hon. Baidoo openly disagreed with, though stressing his respect for the Court’s authority.
“I disagree with the ECOWAS court because I think that as a sovereign country we have a constitution which establishes the supreme court of the republic”
Hon. Bernard Bediako Baidoo, MP for Akwatia
Even though Ghana is party to treaties that permit regional adjudication, Hon. Baidoo insisted that constitutional procedures governing the office of the Chief Justice remain domestic matters. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that the Court believes the treaty framework gives it the mandate to proceed.
Human Rights, Due Process and Compliance
Central to the former Chief Justice’s argument is an allegation of human rights violations during her removal process.
Hon. Baidoo rejected this assertion, insisting that all constitutional requirements were fully observed throughout the petition and removal process, emphasising that a human rights violation would only arise if she had been denied a hearing, which he pointed out did not occur.
“Was she given the right to be heard? She was,” he said emphatically.
The Akwatia MP argued that Ghana’s constitutional structure clearly outlines the petition process: a citizen petition triggers Council of State review, after which a prima facie determination is made and, where necessary, a committee conducts a hearing.
He maintained that President John Dramani Mahama acted strictly within this architecture, and that the committee’s findings were binding. To further underline this point, he noted that the constitution does not provide any path for an appeal once the committee completes its work.
For him, this is not a flaw but a deliberate design of the constitutional framework governing high judicial officers.
Though Hon. Baidoo firmly believes the ECOWAS Court will not find grounds to overturn the removal, he accepted that the government would comply with any future ruling if the substantive case went in Torkornoo’s favour. In his words:
“If it happens in her favor, the law will be respected.” Yet he stressed that national governance cannot be on pause, noting that Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, appointed and sworn-in by President Mahama, now serves as the new Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana.
The backdrop to Baidoo’s comments is the ECOWAS Court’s dismissal of Justice Gertrude Torkornoo’s application for interim measures, a ruling communicated by Deputy Attorney-General Dr. Justice Srem Sai.
The Court held that the application lacked the urgency and legal basis required for temporary relief, dealing yet another blow to the former Chief Justice’s efforts to halt the consequences of her removal while pursuing her case across multiple legal forums.
As the legal and political dimensions intersect, the case remains active but without immediate effect on Ghana’s judicial administration.
For Hon. Baidoo, the completed constitutional process, the finality of the committee’s findings, and the installation of a new Chief Justice make retrospective injunctions legally impossible, even as the regional court continues to examine the substantive human rights claims.
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