Prof. Stephen Kwaku Asare, a citizen of Ghana, has petitioned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo for alleged misbehaviour and incompetence.

The petitioner, in a letter dated December 17, noted that “The legal basis of my petition is Article 146 (1) of the 1992 constitution of the republic of Ghana [the constitution]. For the avoidance of doubt, my petition focuses on stated misbehaviour and incompetence related to the Chief Justice’s administrative functions as head of the judiciary responsible for its supervision and administration under article 125 (4) of the constitution.”

Article 146 (1) stipulates that a Justice of the Superior Court or a Chairman of a Regional Tribunal shall not be removed from office except for stated misbehaviour or incompetence or on the ground of inability to perform the functions of his office arising from infirmity of body or mind.

The petitioner said his petition does not arise from the Chief Justice’s exercise of her judicial functions.

“Accordingly, the petition does not challenge any decisions, orders, or directives issued by the Chief Justice in the performance of her duties as a justice of the Supreme Court, including those made to enforce judgments, decrees, or orders in cases she has adjudicated.”

The petitioner indicated, for instance, that the Chief Justice’s elaborate scheme of requesting the president to appoint specific judges and later presenting the names for the Judicial Council’s approval subverts the constitutional scheme and converts both the council and president into rubber-stamping her preferred judges.

“When the petition is being considered at any stage, members of the Judicial Council will be subpoenaed to testify on the matter,” he added.

The petitioner further noted that there have been reported incidences of the Chief Justice’s direct interference with duly constituted panels with no explanations or public interest reasons for so doing.

“We consider the reconstitution of panels to be beyond the Chief Justice’s administrative power and amounts to a direct interference with the impartiality and independence of duly constituted judicial panels,” he added.