Legal vacation: ‘Stop using media to challenge judicial decisions, inflame passions’ – Thaddeus Sory to Lawyers

Private legal practitioner Thaddeus Sory has called on members of the legal profession to use established judicial processes to challenge decisions they disagree with rather than turning to the media, public pressure or boycotts.

According to him, lawyers who believe that a judge or the Chief Justice has made an improper decision have several legal avenues available to them and should exhaust those options before making public accusations.

Mr Sory’s comments come amid a dispute over a directive by Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie allowing selected High Court judges to preside over cases during the legal vacation.

The legal teams of former National Signals Bureau Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene and former National Food Buffer Stock Company Chief Executive Officer Hanan Abdul-Wahab have objected to the arrangement and called for their respective cases to be postponed until October, when the new legal year begins.

Speaking on the KSM Show on Monday, August 17, 2026, Mr Sory said lawyers dissatisfied with judicial decisions should engage the relevant authorities and pursue the remedies provided by law.

He explained that where a lawyer considers a ruling to be wrong or unfair, the decision can be challenged through an appeal or other appropriate legal proceedings.

“The judge is going to write the ruling. You can challenge it,” he said.

Mr Sory also encouraged lawyers who disagree with an administrative decision of the Chief Justice to engage him directly rather than immediately attributing the decision to political influence.

“If you are not happy with the Chief Justice’s decision, you can actually go and meet up with the Chief Justice and say, look, as parties, we want to come and discuss this directive,” he said.

He questioned why lawyers would resort to public campaigns when the judicial system provides mechanisms for addressing their concerns.

“Why don’t we engage the system in the appropriate way?” he asked.

Mr Sory further cautioned against making allegations of political interference or bias before available legal remedies have been pursued.

He said public commentary on sensitive judicial matters could heighten emotions and make constructive resolution more difficult.

“Maybe the idea is to just inflame passions to get people to think the way they want them to think,” he said.

He therefore urged lawyers to uphold the integrity of the legal profession by using established procedures to resolve disputes with judicial decisions instead of relying on public pressure to influence the courts.