NDC To Boycott Vetting Of Justice Afreh

The Minority Group in Parliament on Wednesday said they find the nomination of Mr Justice Kwame Afreh to the Supreme Court as not only objectionable but also without conscience and have decided to abstain from all parliamentary processes relating to his appointment.

It said, "this abstention is without prejudice to any further action that we may take to ensure that democratic governance is blended with very high moral values".

The Minority in a Press Release signed by Mr I.K. Adjei- Mensah, Deputy Minority Leader said it wishes to register its total disappointment over the decision by President J.A. Kufour to nominate a candidate for appointment onto the Supreme Court at this time in the nation's constitutional history.

It said the nomination comes against the background of the fact that Justice Afreh is currently presiding over one of the Fast Track Courts whose constitutional status has been given a fatal blow.

The release said, "we are surprised that Justice Afreh himself has accepted his nomination without reflecting on the timing and the peculiar circumstances of his nomination from the Fast Track Court to determine the fate of the same Fast Track Court at the Supreme Court".

The Minority said it was their conviction that apart from the nomination being ill-timed and immoral, it poses grave danger to the constitutional development of the nation as it carries with it great potentials for undermining the judicial authority of the Supreme Court.

The release quoted Article 133 (2) of the 1992 constitution, which states that "the Supreme Court, when reviewing its decision under this article, shall be constituted by not less than seven justices of the Supreme Court".

It said it is the opinion of the NDC Minority group that said in view of the sensitivities and circumstances of this particular case, it is not only imprudent but also unnecessary for the Executive to appoint new judges to sit on the review, especially when the minimum requirement of seven judges and above has been met.

"Moreover, we wish to emphasise that there is no legal or constitutional requirement to empanel eleven justices of the Supreme Court for the review as erroneously indicated by the Minister for Information and Presidential Affairs. Indeed, the nine judges are legally competent to review their own decision".

The release said following the decision of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to seek a review of the decision of the Supreme Court, it is clear that the President's decision is intended to boost the number of judges to be empanelled to determine the manner in favour of the government.

The NDC Minority Group said after a review of the present circumstances it is satisfied that the exercise of Executive authority at this time is a smart but misconceived attempt to reverse the Supreme Court decision.

It said it was conscious of the fact that Mr Justice Afreh would never vote to declare as unconstitutional a court over which he has presided for the past several months.