The Accra High Court has rejected a motion made by suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Sackey Torkornoo to stop the Justice Pwamang Committee, which was tasked with looking into petitions for her removal, from taking action against her.
The Law Platform, a legal news service, said that the court dismissed the motion, ruling that Torkornoo had abused the legal system and that the court lacked authority to hear the case.
The following arguments were mentioned by Torkorno in her judicial review application:
• That the Respondents are not legally and properly constituted under Article 156 to carry out the quasi-judicial proceedings necessary for an Article 146 Committee.
• That on May 15, 2025, the Respondents acted irrationally, capriciously, and arbitrarily in violation of Article 23 and Article 296 of the 1992 Constitution, as well as the audi alteram partem rule of natural justice and Article 282 of the 1992 Constitution, resulting in the conduct of void proceedings on that date.
• That the Respondents have violated all constitutional requirements for the conduct of a full, impartial inquiry into their alleged terms of reference by not providing the parties with the Petition, Answer, and Prima Facie determination that are to serve as the basis for the inquiry.
As a result, the proceedings they are conducting are deemed null and void.
• That the Respondents have, by choosing to regulate the proceedings affecting the Applicant as adversarial litigation between the parties and subject to the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2004, Cl 47, without first serving on the parties authenticated pleadings that are to form the basis for the adversarial litigation, violated all requirements for the conduct of adversarial litigation, thereby rendering the proceedings they are conducting null and void.
Judge Kwame Amoako presided over the Human Rights Division 1 courtroom on Thursday, July 31, 2025, when the court contended that it lacked the authority to investigate the in camera hearings.
