Supreme Court to decide the fate of criminal trials during legal vacation today

The Supreme Court is set to rule today, Friday, August 21, on an application seeking to halt the enforcement of administrative warrants that allowed some High Court judges to sit and hear selected criminal cases during the ongoing legal vacation.

The application was filed by Ofoase-Ayirebi MP Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who is challenging the constitutionality of the decision to continue with the cases while the courts are officially on vacation.

His legal team argues that the arrangement could undermine the constitutional rights of accused persons, particularly where their lawyers are unavailable or where they have chosen to be represented by specific counsel.

Another issue raised by the applicant concerns the decision by the Attorney General to represent Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, who is a defendant in the case.

Lawyer Frank Davies maintains that the Chief Justice should have independent legal representation because the Judiciary is constitutionally separate from the Executive.

“The Chief Justice heads an independent organ of the state, the judiciary. We have the judiciary, the legislature, and the executive. They are supposed to be independent organs of the state,” he said.

The applicants have clarified that their objection is not to the criminal proceedings themselves, but to their continuation during the legal vacation despite the reported unavailability of some lawyers.

Mr Davies said the decision could affect the ability of accused persons to receive proper legal representation and to be represented by counsel of their choice.

“We are not saying that they should not be tried. What we are saying is that the continued trial of the cases in the legal vacation offends their right to fair representation and lawyers of their own choice,” he said.

He further explained that although criminal matters may be heard during the legal vacation, the practice has traditionally involved considering the availability and agreement of the lawyers before the Chief Justice issues the necessary warrant.

Mr Davies also questioned the basis for selecting certain criminal cases to continue during the vacation when other cases remain pending before the courts.

“If it is the case that there can be trials during the vacation, why is it that it is only those selected cases which are being tried?” he asked.

The ruling by the Supreme Court will clarify whether the warrants authorising the selected judges to sit during the legal vacation can remain in force and whether the affected criminal proceedings can continue.