The Dean of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Prof. Vladimir Antwi-Danso, has added his voice to the controversy surrounding the declaration of some four seats vacant in Parliament.
He says the Supreme Court is not exercising any authority over Parliament as being claimed by a section of the public, but rather performing its role as required by the constitution.
According to him, although the laws are made by the Legislature, it is the Supreme Court that interprets them.
Despite admitting that nobody directs Parliament on how to carry out its responsibilities, it is the Judiciary, he says, that puts both the Executive and Legislative arms of government in check.
He tells Onua TV’s Captain Smart on Maakye, the morning show, that notwithstanding the Legislature’s autonomy of carrying out its mandate, the Supreme Court can point out the ills in such decisions if they tend to be incongruous with the law.
“Nobody tells parliament what to do but it is the courts that checks both parliament and the executive. They have their own rules and can do whatever they want. However, after it is done, the court can say it is unconstitutional,” he said Wednesday, October 23, 2024.
“Supreme Court is not lording over Parliament. It is doing its work,” he added, explaining further that, all Supreme Courts across the world interpret laws based on either the strict application of the rule or in the supreme interest of the impact of the issues on society.
“The Supreme Court uses the positivist and sociological rules, –what the law strictly says, and what the impact of the ruling would have on society,” he said.
He also explained that the two incidents regarding Andrew Amoako Asiamah in 2020 is different from the current happenings. He avers the NPP writing to the Speaker that one of its members had forfeited his membership is different from these four MPs declaring their intention to contest independent or joining a different party in the subsequent House.
“What occurred at Oquaye’s time and now are two different things. At the time, it was the party that wrote to Parliament that its member has left the party. This one, they are still in the party and their membership will expire after December 2024,” he stated.
The discussion follows a ruling by the Speaker of Parliament Thursday, October 17, 2024, where some four seats were declared vacant. The declaration, subsequently reduced the membership of the governing NPP, who were then Majority to 135, with the opposition NDC, who were the Minority, remaining with 136 members to assume the Majority position.
The ruling, which was sent to court by the leader of the NPP MPs, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, was stayed by the Supreme Court bringing controversy as to who is now Majority and Minority in the House.
After failing to attain quorum at sitting, the House was adjourned indefinitely by the Speaker.
Full Text: Speaker Bagbin’s address on current state of Parliament
