A private legal practitioner and former Director of the Ghana School of Law, has bemoaned the appointment of junior persons at the bar to occupy the position of the Attorney-General ahead of their senior colleagues.
Kwaku Ansa-Asare, has noted that the appointment of persons without much experience at the bar to occupy such a position reduces the respect accorded to the office by the senior lawyers.
According to him, the legal fraternity gives much respect to seniority and appointing persons who have fewer experience in the professions for positions like the Attorney-General, and to some extent, the Chief Justice, does not auger well for the profession.
Commenting on the vacant seats controversy in Parliament that has brought a scuffle between the judiciary and legislature, he reiterated his earlier comments on the need for the mode of appointment of the Chief Justice to be changed, adding that of the Attorney-General.
He told Captain Smart on Onua TV’s morning show, Maakye, Thursday, November 07, 2024, that it was time political influences are detached from the judiciary to make it completely independent.
Mr. Ansa-Asare suggested that all the presidential aspirants should be made to commit to amending the constitution if elected, so that the provisions in the document that affect the potency of the nation’s democracy are reconsidered.
“The presidential aspirants and parties must all commit so that the constitution would be amended to change how the Attorney-General is appointed. For some time now, it has been small small boys who are made the Attorney-General. We the lawyers really respect seniority. So if you choose someone with 12 or 13 years experience whilst another with 50 years experience at the bar is there, what will happen?
“What will happen is that if the President calls him to do something he can’t look in his face and say no because he is a child. The President’s experience in the legal profession surpasses his so how the Attorney-General and Chief Justice are appointed must be changed,” he stated in Twi.
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He also advised the Supreme Court to take a lesson from the recent happenings to distance itself from political matters when they are presented to them.
Ansa-Asare stated that it was time the apex court was able to garner the courage to dispel some political cases when they come before them.
His comments followed the address by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to the press regarding the state of affairs of parliament following the brouhaha emanating from the declaration of some four seats vacant.
He lauded the Speaker for being bold and spelling out the issues as they are.
“I asked myself; so Bagbin had this courage all these years and he hasn’t shown it? Since this government came to power, everything political is taken to the Supreme Court. We will respect rule of law but it doesn’t mean if they are doing something blindly, we should support them.
“The Supreme Court should use this as a lesson not to entertain any political issue that is presented to them in the future. They should be courageous to do so,” he advised.
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