Court to rule on review June 26

THE Supreme Court will on June 26, this year, deliver its judgement in the case in which the Attorney-General has called for a review of its earlier decision that the Fast Track High Court is unconstitutional.

The court, presided over by the Chief Justice, Mr Justice E. K. Wiredu, fixed the date yesterday after granting an extension of time at the instance of the Attorney-General to enable counsel for Mr Tsikata to file his statement of case in reply to that of the Attorney-General.

The court gave counsel up to seven days during which to file the statement. Other members of the 11-member panel are Mrs Justice Joyce Bamford-Addo, Mr Justice A. K. B. Ampiah, Mr Justice F. Y. Kpegah, Mr Justice E. D. K. Adjabeng and Mr Justice William Atugubah.

The rest are Mr Justice George Acquah, Ms Justice Sophia Akufo, Mr Justice George Lamptey, Mr Justice T. K. Adzoe and Mr Justice Kwame Afreh. The Supreme Court, by a 5-4 majority decision on February 28, this year declared the Fast Track High Court unconstitutional.

The court, presided over by the Chief Justice, Mr Justice E. K. Wiredu, arrived at the decision in its judgement in the case in which Mr Tsatsu Tsikata challenged the constitutionality of the Fast Track High Court. The judges who upheld Tsatsu’s application were Mrs Justice Joyce Bamford-Addo, Mr Justice A. K. B. Ampiah, Mr Justice Francis Kpegah, Mr Justice E. D. K. Adjabeng and Mr Justice T. K. Adzoe.

Those who dissented were Mr Justice Wiredu, Mr Justice George Acquah, Mr Justice William Atugubah and Ms Justice Sophia Akufo.

In their reasons, which were given on March 20, the majority side declared the Fast Track High Court as alien to the Constitution.

According to them, the Fast Track High Court is clearly different from the ordinary High Court.

They said nowhere in the Constitution is power conferred on the Chief Justice to create divisions of the High Court. In their dissenting reasons, the four judges described the arguments of Mr Tsikata as fallacious, porous and legally untenable.

They averred that the establishment of the Fast Track High Court by the Chief Justice did not infringe any provision of the Constitution.

According to them, Article 139 (3) of the Constitution empowers the Chief Justice to establish divisions of the High Court without reference to Parliament or any legislation.