A Supreme Court Justice nominee, Anthony Forson Jnr., has said he is not in favour of calls to cap the number of justices at the Supreme Court.
He said this during his vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Thursday, August 27.
“Because of the wider jurisdiction allocated to the Supreme Court, there should be no cap on the number of judges,” he told the committee.
He stressed, “I am an advocate of no capping at the Supreme Court.”
It is recalled that the Constitution Review Committee recommended capping the Supreme Court at 15 justices (the Chief Justice plus 14 others) to reduce workloads, streamline appellate cases, and prevent indefinite expansion. The government has however decided on a larger bench comprising 19 members.
The government proposed a fixed single term of office for Ghana’s Chief Justice and a limit on the number of Supreme Court justices as part of planned constitutional reforms.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, announced the government’s position on Thursday, July 30, after the Constitutional Review Committee presented its final report to President John Dramani Mahama at the Presidency.
Dr Ayine said the government supports a constitutional amendment that would allow the Chief Justice to serve a single, non-renewable term of 10 years or remain in office until reaching the mandatory retirement age, whichever comes first.
“Regarding the Judiciary, two positions deserve mention. First, the Government supports a fixed tenure for the Chief Justice: a single, non-renewable term of ten years, or until the retirement age, whichever occurs first,” he said.
According to him, the proposal is intended to ensure orderly leadership transitions within the Judiciary and prevent a Chief Justice from occupying the office for an extended period.
“This ensures predictable transitions at the head of the Judiciary and removes the risk of prolonged or indefinite occupancy of that high office,” Dr Ayine explained.
