The Chief Justice’s plan to increase the number of Supreme Court judges to 20 has received support from the majority in Parliament.
Due to the large number of cases, Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Torkornoo has recommended five judges for the Supreme Court to President Akufo-Addo.
The idea is within the law, according to Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, despite criticism from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that it is illegal.
The majority leader said, “We’ve learned that the chief justice has mooted a proposal to expand the supreme court to 20 judges for efficiency and effectiveness,” while addressing reporters in Parliament on Monday in Accra.
There are many who argue that the Chief Justice is not mandated to do this. We disagree and contend that the Chief Justice, in his or her capacity as chief executive and head of the judiciary, is empowered to make such recommendations under article 125(4) of the constitution due to certain inherent authorities specified in this clause. “The Chief Justice shall, in accordance with this Constitution, preside over the judiciary and be vested with administrative and supervisory powers.”
“A person in charge of an organization’s management can decide how to operate the business effectively, what has to be done to ensure that the institution’s work is done correctly, and can offer recommendations while keeping the law in mind.
“In their wisdom, the creators of our constitution set a minimum ceiling for us. What were they expecting? It was anticipated that there would be a chance to raise the total in the future. For this reason, they did not include an upper ceiling. Therefore, it is obvious that you cannot claim that the chief justice was incorrect to recommend or propose that the Supreme Court should have more judges than 10, even after reading this and comparing it to the 125, 125, and 4 that I previously mentioned.