Minority Caucus warns of constitutional crisis over Chief Justice appointment 

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority Caucus in Parliament has raised concerns over the appointment of Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie as Chief Justice. 

The warned that proceeding with the approval process while legal challenges to the removal of former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo were pending could trigger a severe constitutional crisis. 

In a statement signed by Mr Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Marking, the Minority Leader, and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Wednesday, it argued that “Parliament cannot lawfully fill the Chief Justice position when the existence of a valid vacancy is still under active judicial scrutiny.” 

“If Parliament approves the nominee, thereby implicitly affirming the removal’s validity, and the Supreme Court subsequently declares the removal void ab initio, the constitutional crisis would be catastrophic: two persons with colourable claims to the office of Chief Justice, irreconcilable institutional determinations, and the complete erosion of public confidence in coordinate branches’ mutual respect,” the statement warned. 

It cited seven ongoing court cases, including one at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice and three at the Supreme Court, challenging the legality of Justice Torkornoo’s removal. 

The statement also raised concerns over Justice Baffoe-Bonnie’s alleged conflict of interest, noting that he presided over the Supreme Court panel that refused to halt Justice Torkornoo’s removal. 

The Minority had urged Parliament to defer approval until all judicial proceedings were concluded, emphasising that Justice Baffoe-Bonnie remained Acting Chief Justice under Article 144(6), ensuring continuity in judicial administration. 

History would judge Parliament’s actions when judicial independence was at stake, and the Minority had chosen principle over convenience, law over politics, and restraint over haste, the statement said. 

Source: GNA 

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