Hon. Alban S.K. Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has instructed the Appointment Committee to adhere to the newly revised Standing Orders of Parliament when reviewing the President’s nominations for Supreme Court justices.
He stressed that the committee must prioritize the aspirations and expectations of the Ghanaian people, underscoring that the ultimate authority to approve or reject the President’s nominees rests with the House of Parliament, which must exercise its discretion judiciously.
“His Excellency [the President] clearly stated that he is constitutionally injuncted to do what he has done and so it’s now for you to also look at. As we proceed on recess, I expect that the committee sit during the course of the recess to consider these nominees. And anytime we resume, we will consider them on the floor of the house to see whether there is any full complement that they want to maintain”.
“And so we are being called forth through this letter as a house to look at the issue of a complement of the Supreme Court. Should we [Supreme Court Justices] be 13, 15, 20, 40 or hundred, it is for this house to decide”.
Hon. Alban S.K. Bagbin
Additionally, the Speaker called on Parliament to reconsider this matter as part of the ongoing Constitutional Reform efforts or to introduce legislation that establishes a maximum number of justices that the Supreme Court can have.
He stressed that a country of 33 million people requires a judicial system that is trim, efficient, and aligned with its needs, arguing that the number of Supreme Court justices should be carefully calibrated to meet the nation’s legal demands without unnecessary duplication or excess.
As such, the Speaker urged Parliament to fulfill its responsibility as the representatives of the people and prioritize the nation’s interests above all else, putting the country’s needs first and foremost in their deliberations on this matter.
Minority Seeks More Time To Review Supreme Court Nominees
Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament called for an extension of the timeframe to thoroughly review and deliberate on the President’s Supreme Court nominees, requesting more time to ensure a comprehensive evaluation of the candidates.
Deputy Minority Leader, Hon. Armah Kofi Buah, emphasized that the concerns raised by the majority of Ghanaians and Members of Parliament regarding the optimal number of Supreme Court justices necessitate a thorough and diligent examination.
He maintained that a thorough examination of the matter at hand requires sufficient time to address the issue comprehensively.
“And more importantly, Mr. Speaker, right now we just engaged you on the time left for this Parliament to go on recess. We have barely one week and obviously, these are very serious appointments that the Appointment Committee must do a very good job on”.
“And so clearly, the points you made in addition to the time we have necessarily requires that this cannot be considered in this particular section [of Parliament] if we want to do a good job”.
Hon. Armah Kofi Buah
Mr. Buah further contended that considering the significance of these nominations, the Appointment Committee requires sufficient time to conduct a meticulous evaluation, thereby ensuring that the process meets the expectations of the citizens and does justice to the importance of the appointments.
President Akufo-Addo recently nominated two individuals to join the Supreme Court bench, a move that comes after they received endorsement from the Judicial Council, paving the way for their appointment to the highest court in the land.
The pair nominated by President Akufo-Addo are Professor Richard Frimpong Oppong, a distinguished legal scholar and fellow of the prestigious Ghana Academy of Sciences, and Justice Sophia Rosetta Bernasko Essah, a seasoned jurist currently serving on the Court of Appeal bench.
This move comes after the Chief Justice’s assertion that the Supreme Court requires additional judges to cope with the overwhelming number of cases currently pending before it.
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