Parliament is not a forum for litigation – Bagbin to Minority

Speaker of Parliament Alban Kingsford Bagbin has criticised the Minority in Parliament for boycotting the vetting of Chief Justice nominee, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, describing their subsequent objections during the approval process as misplaced.

Addressing members during the debate on the approval of Justice Baffoe-Bonnie on Thursday, November 13, Mr. Bagbin reminded the Minority that they had the opportunity to raise their concerns during the vetting process but chose not to.

“You had the opportunity to sit in the Appointments Committee to voice your grievances, you decided to boycott,” he said. “We are here to consider the nominee who has gone through the vetting already; this is not a forum for litigation.”

The Speaker’s comments came amid spirited exchanges between the Majority and Minority over the procedure for approving Justice Baffoe-Bonnie as Chief Justice.

Following a voice vote, the Minority insisted on a head count.

Mr. Bagbin maintained that Parliament’s role was to deliberate on the Committee’s report and not to reopen matters that had already been settled at the vetting stage.

He also reflected on Ghana’s constitutional journey, recalling early criticisms of the 1992 Constitution and pointing out how those same critics now depend on it to make their arguments, a subtle dig at the New Patriotic Party, which did not directly participate when the legal document was being put together.

“When this Constitution was being drafted, some people said it was being done by hairdressers,” he remarked. “But today, those people are relying on the same and praising the Constitution.”

The Speaker’s intervention sought to restore order to the proceedings after the Minority raised concerns over the approval process.

Despite the objections, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie was subsequently approved as Ghana’s next Chief Justice through a majority decision in Parliament.