Marietta Brew chairs 11-member committee to implement Constitution Review recommendations

The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, has sworn in members of the Constitution Review Implementation Committee (CRIC) with a mandate to translate accepted recommendations on constitutional reforms into legislation and other measures for implementation.

The 11-member committee, chaired by legal practitioner Marietta Brew, was sworn into office at the Law House in Accra on Friday, August 28, 2026.

Members of the committee include Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai, Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Ampem Darko, Charlotte Osei, Dr Rainer Akumperigya, Emelia Ankomah, Samuel Passah, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, Salamatu Iliasu, Eric Owusu-Mensah and Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi.

The swearing-in ceremony involved the administration of the official oath and the oath of the Constitution Review Implementation Committee by Dr Ayine.

Committee faces November deadline
Dr Ayine said the committee had been given a strict and time-bound mandate, with the first batch of constitutional amendment Bills, particularly those relating to non-entrenched provisions, expected to be ready for presentation to Parliament by November 2026.

He explained that the broader reform process could eventually lead to some proposed amendments being subjected to a referendum alongside the 2027 District Assembly elections.

“Your task is deliberately bipartisan and deliberately time-bound,” he told the committee.

According to the Attorney-General, the government has already issued its position paper on the recommendations of the Constitutional Review Committee and accepted a significant portion of the proposed reforms.

He added that a “zero draft” had been prepared to support the committee's work, incorporating recommendations accepted by the government as well as those accepted with modifications.

CRIC tasked with translating recommendations into law

Dr Ayine said the committee would have to align the government's accepted recommendations with its position paper and draft Bills prepared by a previous implementation committee.

He described the assignment as significant because the recommendations of the Constitutional Review Committee were based on consultations held with Ghanaians across the country.

“What the committee gave us was not a technical document written for lawyers. It was the voice of the Ghanaian people on questions that touch every one of us,” he said.

He said the issues covered by the recommendations included the duration of presidential tenure, the size of Parliament, the election and leadership of District Assemblies, and the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms.

Dr Ayine said Ghanaians had already expressed their views through the nationwide consultation process, while the government had subsequently taken a position on the recommendations.

“What is left is the most exacting part, getting the drafting right, and doing it in a way that keeps fit with the consultations that got us here,” he said.

Brew outlines committee's role
The Chairperson of the CRIC, Marietta Brew, said members were taking on the assignment with a full appreciation of its constitutional and historical significance.

She clarified that the committee's role was not to undertake another comprehensive review of the 1992 Constitution but to convert the recommendations accepted by the government into practical and legally sound measures.

“Our responsibility is to translate the recommendations accepted by government into lawful, coherent and practical measures capable of implementation,” she said.

Mrs Brew explained that some of the proposed reforms would affect entrenched provisions of the Constitution and would therefore require a referendum before they could take effect.

Other recommendations, she said, would be implemented through parliamentary legislation, subsidiary legislation, institutional reforms or administrative action.