Former Director of the Ghana School of Law, Kwaku Ansa-Asare, has criticized Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo’s decision to file an injunction at the Supreme Court to stop the committee investigating her possible removal.
According to him, the move is a “provocation” that undermines constitutional governance.
Speaking on JoyNews, Ansa-Asare said the Chief Justice’s first point of call should have been the Judicial Council, a body created by the Constitution to guide successive Chief Justices.
“She should have gone to the Judicial Council,” he stated.
“That body was created by the Constitution to help successive Chief Justices behave themselves. It is a counsel-seeking institution.”
Ansa-Asare emphasized that the judiciary’s independence is subject to the Constitution and that the Chief Justice’s actions are a calculated attempt to frustrate the committee’s work.
“This is a provocation,” he said.
“Their acts are designed to provoke the members of the committee into doing things that will turn out to be unorthodox and unconstitutional.”
He expressed concern that the Chief Justice’s actions are plunging the removal process into politics, compromising transparency and legality.
Ansa-Asare warned that democracy is not always synonymous with constitutionalism, stressing that governance institutions created by the Constitution must be respected.
“If a Chief Justice won’t even go to her own Judicial Council first when there’s a problem, what example is she setting?” he questioned, expressing disappointment and alarm at the implications for future accountability.
