Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has emphasized the urgent need to legislate a limit on the size of the Supreme Court.
Mr. Bagbin’s comments on the floor of parliament were in response to the nomination of two new judges to the Supreme Court bench, following their approval by the Judicial Council.
The constitution provides that there shall be at least nine judges but does not prescribe an upper limit.
The nominees are Professor Richard Frimpong Oppong, a legal academic and fellow of the Ghana Academy of Sciences, and Justice Sophia Rosetta Bernasko Essah, a justice of the Court of Appeal. According to President Akufo-Addo, both nominees are to be vetted by Parliament as constitutionally mandated.
This nomination follows a recent request from Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo for five additional judges to address the Supreme Court’s overwhelming caseload.
Despite this, the Speaker expressed concern about the growing size of the apex court stating “We are being called forth through this letter as a house to look at the issue of a full complement of the Supreme Court. Should we be 13, should we be 15, should we be 20, 40, or 100? It is for this house to decide,” he said.
“I urge you to look at this issue during the constitutional reforms or to pass legislation to give an upper limit as to how many can be at the Supreme Court of a country of 33 million people.”
The Minority requested more time for the House to work on the matter, noting the seriousness of the appointments and the limited time before the House goes on recess.
Deputy Minority Leader Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah stated, “This cannot be considered in this particular session if we want to do a good job because practically, we are talking about a week and a half to do.”
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Source: Comfort Sweety Hayford/ATLFMNEWS
