The Appointments Committee of Parliament will later this morning vet Justice Paul Kwadwo Baffoe-Bonnie, who was nominated by President John Dramani Mahama to be Ghana’s next Chief Justice regardless of opposition from the minority.
With more than 40 years of bench experience spanning from the High Court to the Supreme Court, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie has been serving as Chief Justice since April of this year following Justice Gertrude Torkornoo’s suspension.
Article 144(1) of the 1992 Constitution, which gives the President the authority to name a Chief Justice after consulting the Council of State and obtaining parliamentary approval, was used to make his nomination.
With more than 40 years of bench experience spanning from the High Court to the Supreme Court, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie has been serving as Chief Justice since April of this year following Justice Gertrude Torkornoo’s suspension.
Article 144(1) of the 1992 Constitution, which gives the President the authority to name a Chief Justice after consulting the Council of State and obtaining parliamentary approval, was used to make his nomination.
In a lawsuit filed in the Accra High Court, Justice Torkornoo is attempting to have her suspension revoked and to stop Baffoe-Bonnie’s screening and subsequent
appointment until the matter is settled. Similar views have been expressed by civil society voices, such as Dr. John Osae-Kwapong, a governance analyst, who has urged Parliament to uphold the legal system in order to preserve public trust in the judiciary.
The majority in Parliament maintains that the procedure is still constitutional in spite of the dispute, stressing that the nomination went through the correct procedures and ought to happen right away.
Since 2008, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, who is renowned for his composed manner and extensive legal knowledge, has been a member of the Supreme Court. He graduated from the Ghana School of Law, the University of Ghana, and Konongo Odumase Secondary School. He has written a number of significant decisions over the years and is well-liked by his colleagues for upholding the highest standards of judicial ethics. He will become Ghana’s 15th Chief Justice if Parliament approves him, and his duties will include supervising the administration of justice, judicial reforms, and initiatives to increase public confidence in the legal system.
The nation’s attention now turns to Parliament today, as lawmakers weigh not only Baffoe-Bonnie’s credentials but also the broader constitutional questions surrounding his nomination.
Minority leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin has insisted Parliament must halt the exercise until all the court cases regarding the removal of the former Chief Justice are dealt with.
The Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has however dismissed a motion filed by the minority urging the House to suspend the vetting and subsequent approval of Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie. The Speaker in his ruling argued the processes at the courts cannot stop Parliament from undertaking its constitutional mandate and the Legislature.
The minority leader however expressed dissatisfaction over the way the petition had been handled.
Story by: Benedict Wiafe
