Minority calls for delay to Supreme Court nominees’ vetting

The Minority in Parliament has called for the vetting of three Supreme Court nominees to be postponed, saying there is no vacant position on the bench and therefore no justification for an accelerated process.

Speaking before the Appointments Committee was due to begin its work on Thursday, 27 August, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin said the Supreme Court was operating with its full complement of justices. He added that it remained able to hear cases and issue judgments when required.

The three nominees have been put forward as additional justices rather than as replacements for judges who have left the court. That, Mr Afenyo-Markin argued, meant there was no pressing need for Parliament to complete the process before its current recall ends on Friday, 28 August.

“If there is no vacancy to fill, there is certainly no emergency compelling anyone to fill it inside three days. There is no fire here,” he said.

The nominees are Justice Sophia Bernasko-Essah, a Justice of the Court of Appeal; Justice Edward Amoako Asante, also a Court of Appeal Justice and a former President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice; and private legal practitioner Anthony Forson Jr, a former President of the Ghana Bar Association.

Mr Afenyo-Markin said the nominations had been referred to the Appointments Committee on the first day of Parliament’s emergency recall, along with two nominations for ministerial positions.

“The Right Honourable Speaker referred five names to the Appointments Committee. Two nominees for ministerial office, three nominees for the Supreme Court of Ghana. That referral came on the very first day of this House, of this emergency recall,”he said.

He said the Minority was objecting to the Majority’s plan to have all five nominees vetted, reported on and approved before the House rises on Friday.

“The recall ends tomorrow, Friday. The Majority now want all five nominees vetted, reported on, and approved before the House rises. We say no, and we say it with the Constitution and our own Standing Orders in our hands,” he said.

The Minority Leader said Parliament had enough time to consider the Supreme Court nominations without compressing the process into the final days of the recall. He suggested that the relevant committee could conduct the vetting in September and present its report when Parliament resumes in October.

He also dismissed any suggestion that the current judicial vacation had created an emergency requiring immediate action. According to him, the Supreme Court continues to sit and deal with urgent matters despite the vacation period.

The Minority’s position does not extend to the two ministerial nominees. Mr Afenyo-Markin said the caucus would support their prompt vetting.

The two nominees are Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga, who has been nominated for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, and Korle Klottey MP Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, who has been nominated for Environment, Science and Technology.

The dispute centres on whether the three Supreme Court nominations should be completed during the emergency recall or left until Parliament’s next sitting. The Minority maintains that the absence of an existing vacancy means the process can proceed later, while the Majority is seeking approval of all five nominees before the House rises on Friday.