The Minority in Parliament says it’s giving the Supreme Court until June 7, 2023, to produce their judgement on the case involving their Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson before they vote on the Chief Justice’s appointment.
According to the Minority, they did not vote on the President’s nominee due to unavailability of the reasoned judgement of the Supreme Court in the matter of Hon. James Gyakye Quayson.
In a statement, the Minority in Parliament said they will only vote on the President’s nominee for the Chief Justice position if the court produces the written Judgement before June 7, 2023.
“The Minority Members on the Appointments Committee of Parliament did not vote on the President’s nominee for the position of Chief Justice today due to the unavailability of the reasoned judgement of the Supreme Court in the matter of Hon. James Gyakye Quayson.
“It is important to state that the Appointments Committee not long ago in 2019 vetted and approved this same nominee as a justice of the Supreme Court. However, it was imperative for Members of The Minority on the Committee to evaluate the decisions of the nominee on all other cases, including the James Gyakye Quayson case since the vetting in 2019,” Mr. Agbodza stated.
He continued “We successfully evaluated the nominee on all relevant criteria except the outstanding matter of James Gyakye Quayson which would enable us to come to a decision. We expect the reasoned Judgement of the court on this matter by 7 June, 2023 to finalise our decision
“We have duly communicated our challenge to our colleagues on the Majority side and expect their cooperation.”
President Akufo-Addo has nominated Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo to be Ghana’s Chief Justice after Justice Anin Yeboah went on retirement in 2023.
Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, if approved, will become the third female Chief Justice in the history of Ghana, after Justices Georgina Theodora Wood and Sophia Akuffo.
She replaces Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, who retires as Chief Justice on May 24, 2023, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 for justices of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court