US Citizen Nominated To Ghana's Supreme Court ?

........Nominee in Limbo
Parliamentary Appointments Committee on Wednesday postponed indefinitely the screening of Professor Kodzo Paaku Kludze, a presidential nominee to the Supreme Court.

Vice Chairman Eugene Atta Agyepong told journalists that a group has petition against the eligibility of the nominee hence the postponement.

THE GHANAIAN TIMES claims the petition against his legibility was from a resident of Gbi-Kpeme in Hohoe from where the nominee hails.

A five-member sub committee of the Committee has been appointed to investigate the petition. All members are tight-lipped over the nature of the allegation and where it came from.

However, a source has indicated to the GhanaHomePage that, this has to do with the status of Professor Kludze's citizenship. According to the source, Kludze is a US citizen, which makes him ineligible to be a member of the supreme court of Ghana.

The constitution of Ghana states

(1) Subject to this article, a citizen of Ghana Shall cease forthwith to be a citizen of Ghana if, on attaining the age of twenty-one years, he, by a voluntary act, other than marriage, acquired or retains the citizenship of a country other than Ghana.

The constitution bars dual citizens from holding the following office

(a) Chief Justice and Justices of the Supreme Court;
(b) Ambassador or High Commissioner;
(c) Secretary to the Cabinet;
(d) Chief of Defence Staff or any Service Chief;
(e) Inspector-General of Police;
(f) Commissioner, Custom, Excise and Preventive Service;
(g) Director of Immigration Service;
(h) Commissioner, Value Added Tax Service;
(i) Director-General, Prisons Service;
(j) Chief Fire Officer;
(k) Chief Director of a Ministry;
(l) The rank of a Colonel in the Army or its equivalent in the other security services; and
(m) Any other public office that the Minister may by legislative instrument prescribe.

Professor Kludze, 68, was a distinguished professor at the Rutgers University School of Law at Camden, when he was nominated to the 17-member Supreme Court of Ghana.

He is an authority on African law and its relationship to the European-based legal systems of the African states. He is the author of many articles and several books. He received his B.A. and LL.B degrees, both at the top of his class, from the University of Ghana and his Ph.D. from the University of London. Professor Kludze has taught at the University of Ghana, University of Calabar, Nigeria, and Temple University.

He had planned to return to his native Ghana when he retired from Rutgers at the end of 2002.

''I was informed of my nomination on Dec. 2, when friends of mine in Ghana called to tell me of the reports in the newspaper,'' Professor Kludze said.

He added that while the nomination of Supreme Court justices was a public process in the United States, it was much less so in Ghana, which follows the British tradition of law. His nomination was expected to be approved by the Parliament of Ghana this month.