CJ's bid to stop removal hearing slammed

A former director of the Ghana School of Law, Kwaku Ansa-Asare, has criticised Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo's decision to file an injunction at the Supreme Court to stop the committee hearing her possible removal. He described the move as a ‘provocation’ that flies in the face of constitutional governance, reports My Joy Online. The legal luminary said the Chief Justice’s first point of call should have been the Judicial Council, not the apex court. ‘That body was created by the Constitution to help successive Chief Justices behave themselves. It is a counsel-seeking institution.’ Ansa-Asare said the Constitution was clear that while the judiciary was independent, that independence was itself subject to the Constitution. ‘The clear language of Article 125 says even though citizens’ participation in the administration of justice must be encouraged, it is subject to the Constitution. So the independence of the judiciary is not absolute.’ He said her move to the Supreme Court, backed by a team of lawyers, was a calculated attempt to frustrate the work of the committee set up by the President under Article 146. ‘This is a provocation,’ he said. 'Their acts are designed to provoke the members of the committee into doing things that will turn out to be unorthodox and unconstitutional.’