THE Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for the continuation of some Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) cases at the High Court in Accra, dismissing an application seeking to stop criminal trials during the ongoing legal vacation.
Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi in the Eastern Region, had challenged the constitutionality of administrative warrants issued by the Chief Justice directing selected judges of the superior courts to conduct criminal proceedings during the legal vacation.
Sitting as a sole judge, Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang dismissed the application, holding that it failed to establish grounds raising serious constitutional questions that would warrant the granting of an injunction.
Justice Pwamang said the fact that some criminal cases were not normally heard during legal vacation, do not mean the administration of justice could not be advanced during the period.
He said the practice should not prevent the Chief Justice from ensuring the speedy hearing of cases, particularly those involving serious offences such as illegal mining (galamsey) and narcotics.
Two of the cases cited by Mr Nkrumah in support of his action are the trial of former National Signals Bureau Director-General, Kwabena Adu-Boahene, and his wife, and that of former National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) Chief Executive Officer, Hanan Abdul-Wahab.
The cases are currently before Justice Francis Achibonga.
Mr Nkrumah, the plaintiff-applicant, had joined the Attorney-General as the second respondent, asking the Supreme Court to determine whether administrative warrants issued by the Chief Justice to selected High Court judges to sit during legal vacation were constitutional.
During Thursday’s hearing, counsel for Mr Nkrumah, Mr Frank Davies, argued that because the Chief Justice had been named substantively as a defendant, he ought to have separate legal representation.
He contended that allowing the Attorney-General, an arm of the Executive, to represent the head of the Judiciary raised concerns about the constitutional principle of separation of powers.
However, the Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Edem Srem-Sai, argued that there was no conflict in the arrangement, maintaining that the Chief Justice, as administrative head of the Judiciary, was properly represented by the Attorney-General.
Dr Srem-Sai noted that the applicant’s argument failed to distinguish between the Chief Justice’s administrative authority to issue warrants and the judicial discretion of individual judges in managing cases.
He further submitted that, in determining an interlocutory injunction, the court had to consider whether there was a serious question to be tried, the possibility of irreparable harm and where the balance of convenience lay.
The Supreme Court subsequently dismissed the application, allowing the affected proceedings to continue during the legal vacation.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
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