By William Yaw Owusu
Monday, 17 July 2006
An Accra Fast Track High Court on Friday dismissed an application filed by Bright Akwetey, a lawyer, seeking an order to compel President J.A Kufuor and the Council of State to act on his petition for the removal of the Chief Justice.
The court presided over by Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, described the mandamus application as “premature”.
The application which was filed against the Attorney General on June 9, sought to “compel the President and the Council of State to act in compliance with the provisions of Article 146 (10) of the Constitution in respect of the petition dated January 13, 2006, for the removal of Mr Justice George Kingsley Acquah, Chief Justice.”
He cited alleged abuse of office and judicial misconduct as his grounds for seeking the removal of the Chief Justice .
He wanted the President to suspend the Chief Justice from office pending the enquiry into allegation of abuse of office and judicial misconduct made in the petition.
“The President and the Council of State have a legal and constitutional duty to comply with Article 146 (10) (a) of the constitution in the special circumstances of this case,” he said, in his affidavit in support of the motion.
“The delay in complying with Article 146 (10) (a) is causing the Chief Justice to flout the rules of natural justice by empanelling his own court to hear his case. Thus being a judge in his own case, he will interfere with the proceedings if he remains in office during the enquiry,” he pointed out.
“There has been a ‘stated misbehaviour’ of abuse of office and judicial misconduct alleged against the Chief Justice, and this requires prompt action by both the President and the Council of State. The victims of the CJ’s punitive transfers and victimization must be guaranteed the freedom, independence and the courage to assist in the enquiry,” he further noted.
The supporting affidavit to the motion states, “The official acts of the President can be challenged either by means of the prerogative writs, or by instituting actions in the Supreme Court under Article 2 and the mandamus is squarely within the law.”
“The Council of State is a constitutional body enjoined by Article 89 (i) to counsel the President in the performance of his functions,” it said and added that it was in the law for the court to compel them to advise the President on the removal of the CJ.
It pointed out that there had been a delay on the part of the President in setting up the committee to investigate the Chief Justice since the committee was publicly announced in the second week of March.
But Mr. Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, in dismissing the application, said that paragraph 11 of Mr. Akwetey’s affidavit in support defeated the whole essence of his application.
He said: “The court will be acting in contempt if it goes ahead to grant this application”.
He added that the committee set up by the President upon the advice of the Council of State could not sit since a citizen was challenging the constitutionality of that committee at the Supreme Court.
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