The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court has dismissed an application by former Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, seeking to halt the work of the committee probing the petitions for her removal from office.
Deputy Attorney General, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, indicated in a Facebook post on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, that the Court ruled the application lacked the requisite criteria to grant her request.
“The ECOWAS Court has, this morning, dismissed Mrs Justice Gertrude Torkornoo’s application for interim measures. The Court stated that the application did not satisfy the criteria for a grant of interim measures,” he posted.
According to Dr. Srem-Sai, the Court said: “The Applicant’s own conduct defeats her claim of imminent and irreparable harm. The Court is, therefore, satisfied that the Applicant has not demonstrated the existence of imminent or exceptional circumstance that will justify the urgency of the application filed almost 3 months after the act complained of.”
“In the light of the Applicant’s failure to meet the requirement of urgency, the Court finds no basis to assess the remaining criteria for provisional measures, same being cumulative. The request for provisional measures as outlined by the Applicant, same not substantiated, is therefore dismissed.”
The Wednesday, November 19, 2025 ruling via Zoom follows the former CJ’s application for temporary prohibition orders for the Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang-chaired committee to discontinue its inquiry into the petitions that eventually got her removed.
Madam Torkornoo has now been replaced by Justice Paul Kwadwo Baffoe-Bonnie as Ghana’s Chief Justice, after the Committee found her guilty of the allegations levelled against her.
While the ECOWAS Court acknowledged that the former Chief Justice had established a prima facie case alleging human rights violations, it ruled that she failed to demonstrate the urgency required for temporary orders. The judges noted that she waited nearly three months after her suspension on April 22, 2025, before filing the motion—a delay that undermined her claim of imminent harm.
The court also rejected a preliminary objection from the Government of Ghana which said the court lacked jurisdiction over the issue because related cases were under trial in Ghanaian courts.
According to the ECOWAS judges, the objection was “misplaced”, clarifying that the sub judice principle applies only when a matter is awaiting judgment elsewhere, not merely because cases share similar facts.
Meanwhile, the court has ordered Ghana to file its response to the application filed by the former CJ within the next 30 days, since the Attorney-General failed to do so while it challenged the court’s jurisdiction for handling the matter.
The Deputy Attorney General, during the hearing, also wanted the court to order lawyers representing Justice Torkornoo to withdraw an application they filed for a default ruling of the court following the refusal of Ghana to respond to the substantive action before the court. However, Justice Torkornoo’s lawyers indicated that they will not withdraw the same because they believe that Ghana will not respond to the application if they withdraw their application for a default ruling.
