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Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has taken aim at his predecessor, Godfred Yeboah Dame, for calling on President John Mahama to halt ongoing consultations on petitions seeking the removal of the Chief Justice.
Speaking to journalists at the Supreme Court on Wednesday following another adjournment of the case, Dr Ayine insisted that the President was constitutionally bound to refer the petitions to the Council of State.
First of all, he has to understand that this is the performance of a constitutional duty. And the law is very clear that you cannot enjoin the performance of a constitutional or public obligation.
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Asked whether the consultation process would proceed, he replied:
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I haven’t spoken with the President yet, so I cannot give a definitive answer. The President and the Republic are my clients. I do not advise my client in public.
The case, which had been scheduled for hearing on Wednesday, has been adjourned to 6 May for what the court described as “unavoidable reasons.”
Background
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On 26 March, a statement signed by the Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, confirmed that President Mahama had received three separate petitions calling for the Chief Justice’s removal.
In accordance with Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution, the President forwarded the petitions to the Council of State to initiate the mandatory consultation process.
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The move has sparked sharp political and legal debate, culminating in a lawsuit filed by former Attorney-General Godfred Dame on behalf of Vincent Ekow Assafuah, Member of Parliament for Old Tafo.
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The suit, brought before the Supreme Court, challenges the procedural legality of the President’s referral of the petitions.
The Supreme Court had initially scheduled the case for 9 April but adjourned it indefinitely after the Attorney-General failed to appear.