Prohibit appointment of my successor — Former CJ asks High Court
Former Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, has filed an application at the High Court seeking an order to prohibit the appointment of her replacement.
By this application, the former Chief Justice is essentially asking the High Court to stop the processes leading to the appointment of the acting Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, who has been nominated by President John Dramani Mahama for consideration by the Council of State, and approval by Parliament as the substantive Chief Justice.
Grounds
In a judicial review application filed at the Accra High Court yesterday, Justice Torkornoo, who was removed from office by President John Dramani Mahama for misconduct following a recommendation by a constitutional committee, is also seeking an order prohibiting the denial of her salary and entitlement before her removal.
The former Chief Justice is further seeking an order of certiorari quashing the proceedings, deviants an order from the court to quash the proceedings and grounds of the five-member committee that recommended her removal, as well as the warrant from the President removing her from office.
She is basing her application on 14 grounds, including unconstitutionality, unfairness and bias.
“The findings and recommendations of the Committee set up by the President under Article 146 (6) and (7) of the 1992 Constitution to inquire into and make recommendations in respect of the petitions for the removal of the Applicant as Chief Justice of the Republic and chaired by Pwamang JSC, blatantly violate relevant provisions of the 1992 Constitution and are therefore unconstitutional and illegal,” she stated.
She further accused the committee that recommended her removal of making “false and misleading findings against her”.
“The first alleged finding and recommendation of the Pwamang Committee, is false, misleading, irrational, unreasonable and illegal on account of purporting to find "misconduct of the Chief Justice for expenditure that has not been disallowed against the Chief Justice, nor the Chief Justice surcharged for it by the Auditor General in the Audited Accounts of the Judiciary and Judicial Service for the year 2023 pursuant to Article 187 (7) o f the 1992 Constitution,” she added.
Another case
This is the second court action undertaken by the former Chief Justice after her removal.
In the first case, which is also a judicial review application filed in September, this year, Justice Torkornoo is challenging her removal as a Justice of the Supreme Court.
In that application also filed at the High Court, Justice Torkornoo contended that her removal as a Justice of the Supreme Court was unlawful, as the recommendation for her removal was in respect of her office as the Chief Justice, which followed a procedure completely different from that of the removal of a Justice of the Supreme Court.
On September 23, this year, the Attorney-General, Dr Dominic Ayine, responded to the application, by triggering a constitutional interpretation by filing a constitutional reference at the High Court to the Supreme Court.
The constitutional references is asking the apex court to interpret and answer whether a Chief Justice removed from office could continue to hold the position as a Justice of the Supreme Court.
Writer’s email: emma.hawkson@graphic.com.gh
