Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, has cited the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (CI 47), to challenge claims that Ghana’s courts must close during the legal vacation.

According to him, in a Facebook post on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, the rules do not require the courts to shut down during the vacation period, and thus the Chief Justice has the power to allow judges to hear cases during the period.

'Lawyers cannot decide when courts sit' – Dr Srem-Sai fires GBA President

Dr Srem-Sai made the point in a post accompanying a copy of Order 79 of CI 47, which covers court sittings, office hours, and vacations.

He explained that Order 79, Rule 1(1) allows the Chief Justice to appoint any day, including days within the legal vacation, for the hearing of cases when circumstances require.

“Below is the law on legal vacations. It does not say that courts are to shut down. As you may see from Rule 4 below, the legal vacation schedule is, by Rule 1(1), subject to the CJ’s decision to give warrants to a judge to work during the vacation,” he wrote.

The Deputy AG also disputed the argument that there is a convention preventing courts from sitting during legal vacation.

He said such a convention would have to be established through evidence of consistent practice and a general belief that the practice is legally binding.

“The existence of a convention is a question of fact which must be established by evidence of two things (a) consistent practice, AND (b) opinion juris - that is, the uniform opinion that the practice is binding as law rather than a preference or convenience,” he stated.

Dr Srem-Sai said past practice by Chief Justices also does not support the claim that courts cannot sit during the vacation.

“The practice, as we know it, doesn’t support the existence of such an alleged convention. CJs have consistently, throughout the ages, given vacation warrants to judges who have conducted trials,” he noted.

He further argued that no convention can override the express provisions of CI 47.

“An alleged convention cannot operate to override an express provision of law. The express provision of law on the matter is Order 79 of CI 47,” he added.

What CJ Baffoe-Bonnie said about court sittings during legal vacation

He maintained that lawyers and their associations do not have the legal authority to determine whether court proceedings should continue.

“No law or practice gives a lawyer or our associations the power to determine whether court proceedings should go on,” he stated.



MAG/VPO

Betty Krosbi Unfiltered: Mahama’s Reset, Politics and the Future of Women’s Football