­2019 – Year of new Chief Justice, landmark decisions

The year 2019 was an eventful year for the judiciary.

It saw the end of an era — Justice Sophia Abena Boafo Akuffo retired as Chief Justice on December 20, 2019 while Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah became the new Chief Justice and fourth most powerful person in the country on December 24, 2019.

Apart from a new Chief Justice, three new appointments were made by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to the Supreme Court in the year under review.

Justices Mariama Owusu, Gertrude Torkonoo and Avril Lovelace-Johnson were appointed to replace Justices Vida Akoto Bamfo, Sophia Adinyera and Justice Akuffo who retired during the year.

Closure of “abominable courts”

Another administrative decision that affected the judiciary was the closure of certain dilapidated courts that were described as “abominable courts” by Justice Akuffo.

During her tenure as Chief Justice, Justice Akuffo emphasised the need for court buildings to meet modern standard in order to improve the conditions of service of staff of the Judicial Service and also for the courts to command the necessary respect among the general public.

Her zero tolerance towards dilapidated courts led to the closure of the Accra Central District Court Complex, which housed eight district courts and the Adjaben District Court “2”.

In the case of the Accra Central District Court complex, the buildings had developed cracks with leaky roofs, while the Adjaben Court was constructed with asbestos, a chemical which was harmful to human health.

Landmark decisions

Away from administrative actions and into the courtrooms will show that 2019 was a year of landmark decisions by the courts which had significant impact on the country.

The Supreme Court on December 18, 2019, gave an interpretation of Article 14 Clause 3 of the 1992 Constitution to the effect that a person arrested must be produced before court within 48 hours and that 48 hours included all days.

In the landmark decision which also happened to be the valedictory judgement of Justice Akuffo, the Supreme Court declared that 48 hours included public holidays, weekends, periods of strike action and civil unrest .

With the decision, the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional portions of three enactments which prevented the courts from sitting on certain days to determine whether or not a person detained was entitled to bail.

These are Section 4 of the Public Holidays Act, 2001(Act 601), of Sections 33, 35(3) and 42 of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) and Order 79 rule 3(2) of the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (C.I. 47)

Legal practitioner, Mr Martin Kpebu, initiated the suit which led to the decision by the apex court.

Heads of public corporations

On June 12, 2019, the Supreme Court also delivered a landmark decision which went to the core of the country’s politics.

It declared the practice whereby heads of public corporations were removed from office as a result of a change in government as unconstitutional.

Giving a true interpretation of Article 190 Clause 1 (b) of the 1992 Constitution, a seven-member panel of the court, in a unanimous decision, held that public corporations were part of the Public Services of Ghana and, therefore, heads of such institutions were public service officers whose appointments were protected by the Constitution.

The removal of such public service officers, the court held, must therefore be done in accordance with the terms and conditions of their contract of engagement or it must be justified, as stipulated in Article 191 of the Constitution.

By that decision, the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional the section of the Presidential (Transition) Act 2012 (Act 845) which terminated the appointments of the chief executives or director-general of public corporations, statutory boards and authorities upon the assumption of office of a new President.

Private legal practitioner, Mr Theophilus Donkor, filed the legal action which culminated in the apex court’s decision.

DACF

The other landmark decision by the Supreme Court was also delivered on June 12, 2019 and it had to do with allocation of funds to the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF).

According to the court, it was unconstitutional for the government to cap funds allocated to the DACF because such allocation was a constitutional provision which did not provide for its capping.

The court, therefore, declared that the Earmarked Funds Capping and Realignment Act, 2017 (Act 947) and Section 126 of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 916), which limited the proportion of revenue due for allocation to the DACF violated Article 252(2) of the 1992 Constitution.

Article 252(2) of the 1992 Constitution stipulates that Parliament shall “make allocation of not less than five per cent of the revenues of Ghana to the district assemblies for development and the amount shall be paid into the District Assemblies Common Fund in quarterly instalments”.

‘Coup plotters and secessionists’

It became public when the Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, released a statement of an alleged attempt to destabilise the country in September, 2019.

By November, 10 people, including a senior military officer and a senior police officer had been arraigned on allegation of plotting to destabilise the country and overthrow the government.

The case of the alleged coup plotters became one of the most significant matters that dominated the news and the judiciary.

Prosecutors accused the 10 of being part of a group known as Take Action Ghana, a non-governmental organisation which is alleged to have planned to embark on demonstrations against the government and “possibly take over the government”.

As of the end of 2019, the alleged coup plotters had made many unsuccessful attempts to be admitted to bail.

While that case is still pending before the courts, another case which had allegation of treason written all over it also made headlines in 2019.

This was the case of the Volta secessionists.

Nine people, including an octogenarian, were arrested in May 2019 and put before the Accra High on allegations of treason for planning to secede parts of the Volta Region from Ghana.

The nine, who were part of a group calling itself the Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF), were, however set free on July 8, 2019 after the Attorney-General’s Department (A-G) filed a nolle prosequi to discontinue the case.

Ironically, the group members allegedly went back to their activity of declaring an independent State out of Ghana known as the Western Togoland.

The police are on their heels and that case will definitely dominate the headlines in 2020.