The Chairman of the Constitutional Review Committee, Prof. Henry Kwesi Prempeh, has expressed concerns about the process of removing judges, particularly the Chief Justice, under Article 146 of the Constitution.
He made this call in a Facebook post following the suspension of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo after the establishment of a prima facie case.
Prof. Prempeh also suggested that the findings and outcome of the proceedings, including the grounds and supporting evidence, should be made public after the fact.
“Even if the removal proceedings must be held in camera, I believe that, at the minimum, the findings and outcome of the proceedings, including the grounds and supporting evidence behind the removal petition, must be made public after the fact,” he stated.
Additionally, Prof. Prempeh expressed concerns about potential conflicts of interest in the composition of the removal committee, particularly when it involves the Chief Justice.
“Where the removal petition pertains to a Chief Justice, no sitting judge should be included in the five-person removal committee that is constituted to hear the petition,” he argued.
He suggested that retired jurists or other retired career public servants could be used instead of sitting judges and that the selection process for the committee members should be more inclusive and neutral.
“Better to keep a President out of the removal process, except to implement, after the fact, the final outcome of the process as determined by the removal committee,” he added.
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