Former President's Immunity Under Threat

A high profile case likely to land at the Supreme Court when the legal vacation runs out in October is for a constitutional interpretation of Article 57 (6) which has been viewed as that former President Rawlings would arguably be free from any civil or criminal proceedings.

The Daily Dispatch, in its issue last Friday stated that the ex-President “has about 17 more months before he can arguably be free from any civil or criminal proceedings in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by him during his term of office as President of the Republic of Ghana”. The date the ex-President should be looking forward to is January 8, 2004.

Whilst a couple of lawyers who were phoned up by some radio stations like Peace FM said the paper’s view was right, a number of callers, (both by phone and physically) argued that for them, the operative words in Art 57 (6) are ‘may” and “within”. Two of them promised to take the issue up to the Supreme Court when it reconvenes in October. Article 57 (6) states “Civil or criminal proceedings may be instituted against a person within three years after his leasing to be President, in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by him his personal capacity before or during his term of office notwithstanding any period of limitation except where the proceedings had been legally barred before he assumed the office of President.”

Article 57 (5) of the Constitution however states that “The President shall not, while in office as President, be personally liable to any civil or criminal proceedings in court.”