Dafeamekpor injunction: Expedited hearing right: — Chief Justice
The Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, has said the expeditious hearing of an application by the Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, seeking to restrain Parliament from approving some Ministers designates was right.
Advertisement
Answering questions from Members of the Judicial Press Corps during an interaction yesterday, Justice Torkornoo said the injunction application was ripe for hearing and, therefore, there was no need to delay it.
According to the Chief Justice, her outfit granted a request for an expeditious hearing of the injunction from the Attorney-General (A-G) because the A-G and the applicant had filed their respective processes.
“As soon as this case was filed, the A-G filed his affidavit in opposition, so the case was ripe for hearing. We were going for an Easter break and the A-G wrote and said this was a matter of governance so the court could issue hearing notices for the case to be heard.
“The court was going to sit on that Wednesday (March 27, 2024) so hearing notices were issued so that the applicant and the respondents will come to court.” “The bailiff went to serve hearing notices. When the court sat on that day, the case was heard because hearing notices had been served on everybody.
“When the case was called, the affidavits of service were on the docket. We knew the applicant had been served, the Speaker had been served, the A-G had been served, and the lawyer for the Speaker and the A-G were in court.
The A-G had filed his affidavit in opposition. So nothing should stop the hearing and we dealt with the application on its merit,” the Chief Justice said.
Criticisms
On March 28, this year, the Supreme Court dismissed an application by Mr Dafeamekpor, seeking to restrain Parliament from approving Ministers designate nominated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
In a unanimous ruling, a five-member panel of the apex court presided over by the Chief Justice held that the applicant failed to demonstrate any legal basis for the court to halt the work of Parliament.
“The application is dismissed as frivolous and an abuse of the court process,” the court held. However, before the case was heard, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) criticised the Chief Justice for expediting the hearing of the case.
According to the NDC, there were other equally important cases that the court was yet to hear, questioning the motive behind the expedited hearing of the injunction application.
In a statement signed by the NDC's General Secretary, Fifi Kwetey, the party expressed intrigue over the prioritisation of the Dafeamekpor case for hearing, especially ahead of the case of Richard Dela Sky v. Parliament of Ghana and the Attorney-General.
No waste of time
The Chief Justice, however, explained that the expedited hearing of the injunction application was part of procedures to speed up the hearing of cases at the Supreme Court, especially concerning interim applications.
The new procedure, Justice Torkornoo said, was to ensure that parties do not waste their time coming to court, only for cases to be adjourned. “When an application is filed, there has to be a date set for the hearing of the application. However, very often, if a date is given immediately and the process is not served on the other party for him to file his affidavit in opposition, parties come to court on the hearing date and do nothing.
So my direction was that if an application is filed, ensure that it is served. If it is served, the other side has 14 days to respond. Now, the other party may respond the next day after service.
If that is done, then there is nothing about 14 days anymore and, therefore, the application is ripe for hearing and hearing notices may be served for the court to sit on it,” the Chief Justice said.
Writer’s email: [email protected]
