Accra (Greater Accra) - 26 June 2002 - The Supreme Court will today deliver judgement in the case brought by the Attorney-General, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for a review of its earlier decision that the Fast Track High Court (FTC) is unconstitutional.
The Chief Justice, Mr. Justice Edward K. Wiredu by the "Practice Direction" has empanelled all the eleven judges of the Supreme Court to sit on the review. Originally nine judges sat on the case brought by Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata challenging the constitutionality of the FTC. The nine-member panel ruled 5-4 in his favour on 28th February 2002.
The Attorney General requested a full court to review the decision. The tenth member, Justice Lamptey, was not in the country when that case was heard. In empanelling a full court, a new judge was appointed to satisfy the odd number requirement.
The President nominated a judge on the Court of Appeal, Mr. Justice Kwame Afreh to make up the odd number for the full court to sit. He was passed by the Council of State and received his approval from Parliament. Justice Kwame Afreh's first major outing on the Supreme Court therefore is the landmark judgement on the review of the earlier decision on the FTC.
Which way will it go then? Legal analysts and laymen are agreed that should the original nine who sat on the initial case decide to maintain their decisions the hope of both the plaintiff and the defendants would depend on the decisions of Justices Lamptey and Afreh.
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 the former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC) Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata challenged the constitutionality of the FTC.
The judges who upheld Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata's application were Justices Joyce Bamford-Addo, A.K.B. Ampiah, Francis Kpegah, E.D.K. Adjabeng and T.K. Adzoe. Those who dissented were Justices E.K. Wiredu, George Acquah, William Atugubah and Sophia Akufo.
The majority in their reasons, which were delivered on March 20th, this year, declared that the Fast Track Court is unknown to the constitution of the country. They contended that the Fast Track High Court is obviously different from the ordinary High Court.
The minority on their part contended that the claim of Mr. Tsikata did not have constitutional backing and was fallacious. They argued that the establishment of the Fast Track High Court by the Chief Justice did not infringe any provisions of the one-decade old constitution of the republic. They said Article 139 (3) of the constitution empowers the Chief Justice to establish divisions of the High Court without reference to Parliament or any legislation.
The Supreme Court recently by a unanimous decision dismissed an application by Mr. Tsikata challenging the legal authority of the Chief Justice to empanel eleven judges to hear the review. The five-member court presided over by Justice A.K.B. Ampiah described the action as unmeritorious and uncalled-for and awarded a cost of ¢5m against the plaintiff.
All of that would be laid to rest today when the law lords give their final words on the constitutionality or otherwise of the Fast Track High Courts.
GRi…/
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