Attorney General backs expansion of Supreme Court bench

Attorney-General (AG) Godfred Yeboah Dame has affirmed that the proposal to increase the number of Supreme Court justices from 15, in addition to the Chief Justice, is both constitutional and essential for enhancing efficient justice delivery.

This follows President Akufo-Addo's request for the AG's counsel on Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo's appeal for an expanded Supreme Court bench.

In a communiqué to the President, Chief Justice Torkornoo underscored the urgent need to expand the Supreme Court to meet the rising justice system demands.

“In view of the realities of the court’s workload and output and the need for the court to appropriately serve the justice needs of the nation,” she stated.

Chief Justice Torkornoo detailed the operational challenges faced by the Supreme Court of Ghana (SCOG), which currently operates three days a week in alternating weeks to manage its caseload.

“Two days are used for panel sitting, and one day for the sitting of a single judge. The SCOG therefore sits 12 times a month. On any given day of sitting, the court deals with a minimum of 15 cases and so works on not fewer than 45 matters in a week or approximately 180 matters in a month,” she explained.

Responding to the Chief Justice's request, Mr. Dame advised President Akufo-Addo that the needs of the justice system should determine the number of Supreme Court justices.

“Given the breadth of the multiplicity of jurisdictions of the Supreme Court, the request for the increase in the number of justices serving on the Supreme Court from the conventional fifteen (in addition to the Chief Justice) to twenty, is not only constitutional but would ensure speedy and effective justice, minimize delays and unnecessary expense, and conduce to the general efficient administration of the Supreme Court,” he stated.

The AG also highlighted that the Supreme Court’s functions, as mandated by the Constitution, require various panels to convene concurrently. “Understandably, the permutations in the constitution of the panels, almost simultaneously, could be daunting for effective and efficient work in the face of the limited number of Justices at the Supreme Court, as the Court is incessantly inundated with cases,” he added.

Mr. Dame pointed to the substantial increase in the backlog of cases, with 414 and 595 cases pending in the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 legal years respectively, as empirical justification for expanding the number of justices.

He argued that this expansion is crucial to addressing the rising backlog and ensuring timely justice for all.

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