The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine has slammed the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), accusing it of hypocrisy and partisan behavior. The criticism follows the GBA’s resolution at its 2025 Mid-Year Conference on April 26 in Accra, which declared the suspension of former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo unconstitutional. The GBA cited the absence of supporting regulations under Article 296 of the 1992 Constitution and called for the suspension’s reversal.
But this did not end there as the Bar Council of England and Wales (BCEW) and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) have waded into controversy. In a joint statement, the bodies expressed concern and asked that the CJ be reinstated.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2025/26 Bar Conference in Wa, Dr. Ayine, highlighted instances where the Bar failed to speak out during high-profile removals, contrasting this with its vocal stance regarding the suspension and eventual removal of Chief Justice Torkornoo.
“Outside the courtroom, the advocacy of the Bar as a professional group has lacked consistency, bringing into question its adherence to principle. Ladies and gentlemen, when in 2015 an article 146 petition was received by the Chief Justice in relation to the former chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Madame Loretta Lamptey, the Bar failed to speak out about the process.”
He continued “Immediately upon (the NPP) assuming office in 2017, an article 146 petition was filed for the removal of the chairperson of the electoral commission, Mrs. Charlotte Osei and her deputies from office. The Bar saw no basis to speak out about compliance with due process”.
He added “But in recent times, the Bar found its voice when petitions based upon the same constitutionally defined procedures were brought in respect of the removal from office of the former Chief Justice, Mrs. Gertrude Araba Torkornoo. Ladies and gentlemen, the honest question we have to ask ourselves is, what changed? Coincidentally, the voice of the BAR amplified the voice of the opposition.”
Dr. Ayine’s remarks have reignited debates about the impartiality and role of the Ghana Bar Association in national legal and political matters.
Elikplim Awuku
