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‘Go to court mantra’ is extremely dangerous – Akufo-Addo cautioned

By PrimeNewsGhana
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U.S based Ghanaian legal practitioner, Prof Stephen Kwaku Asare (aka Prof Azar), has added his voice to the many criticising the President’s recent hit-back at persons condemning his directive to Operation Halt II to burn excavators and other mining machinery on-site.

The President had said that those who believe his directive is illegal can go to court to test the law.

Reacting on Facebook, Prof Azar said the “go to court” mantra is extremely dangerous because it allows the Executive to do everything that is not forbidden by law unless the court stops it.

“The mantra therefore creates an unlimited executive with ex ante judicial power that is only subject to victim-initiated ex post judicial review. To the extent that victims cannot afford the transaction cost of going to court, it effectively leads to an elective dictatorship.

“Rather, our Constitution provides for a limited government, which empowers the government to take only those actions that are specifically allowed by law. Thus, the executive’s mantra should be ‘pursuant to this law,’” the Accounting Professor said.

Read his full comment on Facebook below.

The “go to court” mantra is an extremely dangerous doctrine because it essentially allows the executive to do everything that is not forbidden by law unless the court stops it.

The mantra therefore creates an unlimited executive with ex ante judicial power that is only subject to victim-initiated ex post judicial review. To the extent that victims cannot afford the transaction cost of going to court, it effectively leads to an elective dictatorship.

Rather, our Constitution provides for a limited government, which empowers the government to take only those actions that are specifically allowed by law. Thus, the executive’s mantra should be “pursuant to this law.”

Note that “pursuant to this law” does not mean that the executive cannot burn excavators. Rather, it simply means that the executive, if it seeks to burn excavators, should pass a law that gives it the power to burn excavators that are in the proximity of galamsey sites.

With such a law, the executive then can gleefully burn excavators and when questioned simply point to the law. Of course, victims here too have to bear the transaction cost of going to court but there is a law that is in effect and presumed to be passed by the people.

READ ALSO: Ghanaians will not pay for Development Bank loan - Finance Ministry 

There is something eerie about the executive taking actions, not supported by law, and shifting the burden of proving the illegality of the action by inviting the victims to seek redress at our “fast track independent” courts.

GOGO will not burn excavators and ask galamsayers to go court. GOGO will prosecute galamsayers in court, confiscate their assets and put their excavators to proper use.

#SALL is the cardinal sin of the 8th Parliament. There too, the election manager has acted outside the law and has invited the victims to go to court.

Da Yie!