A sitting Chief Justice cannot resign once a disciplinary action or impeachment process has commenced against him or her, acting Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Edudzi Tameklo has said while referencing a 2015 ruling by the Supreme court.
Tameklo in advancing his argument on this case on TV3’s KeyPoints, May 24, 2025 read portions of a ruling by former Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah in the matter, Justice Kojo Amoah vs Attorney-General.
The ruling delivered on October 29, 2015 by Justice Anin-Yeboah espoused that the President at the time was right in refusing Justice Kojo Amoah’s resignation letter since a disciplinary proceeding had commenced against him.
The rationale provided by Justice Anin-Yeboah at the time of the ruling was that had the President at the time accepted the resignation letter of the said Justice, it would have amounted to an undermining of the disciplinary proceedings established by the constitution against Superior court judges.
Mr Tameklo’s comments follow suggestions by some analysts that the suspended Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, must resign.
Buttressing his point, Edudzi Tameklo read out the rationale policy of the Justice Anin-Yeboah who ruled on the matter.
“We are of the view that the requirement of notification to the President to enable him as the appointing Authority to take steps to ensure that the Judge seeking to resign does not have any pending disciplinary proceedings against him before going on voluntary retirement.
“This provision in our view accords not only with the principle but common sense as well. The only question which arises with the said provision is whether the President has having been complained to in these proceedings by the plaintiff can refuse to give assertion to the decision by the Superior court Judge to resign.
“We think that as the date the plaintiff notified the President of his intention to resign, there was disciplinary proceedings pending against him, the President was not bound to accept same.
“We are equally of the opinion that had the President accepted the letter of resignation, it effect will be to undermine the carefully drafted disciplinary proceedings in relation to Superior court judges under the constitution. Accordingly, we are unable to yield to the plaintiff’s argument that the refusal was wrong,” the ruling concluded.
BackgroundÂ
The plaintiff, Justice Kojo Amoah was before his appointment to the High Court in 2003 a private legal practitioner. He served at various stations where he exercised the functions of a High Court Judge.
In 2010, the honorable Lady Chief Justice received a complaint against him alleging judicial impropriety for delivering a judgment in December 2009 and subsequently purporting in March 2010 to render a different and or separate judgment in respect of the same case.
Upon receipt of the complaint, the Chief Justice referred the matter to a Justice of the Court of Appeal to conduct further investigations into the allegation. The investigation confirmed the allegation which in its nature raised a case of misconduct against the plaintiff who from the evidence that unfolded before the investigating judge had delivered four separate judgments on diverse dates in the same action.
Accordingly, the Chief Justice referred the findings to the Judicial Council which also tasked its Disciplinary Committee to inquire into the matter.
On 16 September 2010, the Judicial Council accepted the findings of its Disciplinary Committee and in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution petitioned His Excellency the President for the removal of the erring judge from office as a justice of the superior court.
After going through the petition, the President acting under article 146(3) of the constitution referred the matter to the Chief Justice to determine if there was a prima facie case against the plaintiff.
Having been satisfied that the allegation disclosed a prima facie case of misconduct against the plaintiff, the Chief Justice proceeded to set up a committee as she was enjoined so to do by article 146(4) on 11 January 2011 to impeach the plaintiff.
However, even before the Committee could commence its work Justice Kojo Amoah on 17 January 2011 while being stationed at Akim Oda as a judge of the High Court wrote to the Chief
Justice giving notice of his desire to voluntarily retire from the Judiciary on the grounds that he had been elected to be installed as the paramount chief of Assin Foso Traditional Area.
His letter was rejected by the President and he sought to challenge it at the Supreme Court but the Apex court rules against him.
