The Human Rights Division of the High Court in Accra has dismissed a judicial review application filed by suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo, ruling that the case was an abuse of court process and outside the court’s jurisdiction.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Kwame Amoako stated that the court could not entertain the matter, marking the failure of Justice Torkonoo’s second legal challenge to ongoing removal proceedings initiated under Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution.
The application, filed on June 9, 2025, sought nine reliefs, including claims that the Article 146 committee had acted unlawfully. Justice Torkonoo also sought to stop the committee from proceeding without supplying authenticated copies of the petitions and responses against her.
This High Court case follows an earlier constitutional interpretation suit she filed at the Supreme Court, which remains pending. However, her separate injunction application aimed at halting the impeachment process until the Supreme Court rules was previously dismissed.🔹 Court’s Reasoning
Justice Amoako grouped the reliefs into two categories:
- Dismissed as abuse of court process
- Dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Reliefs Dismissed as Abuse of Court Process
The judge found that some claims duplicated matters already before the Supreme Court, including:
- The committee’s alleged unlawful conduct due to lack of authenticated documents.
- A request to block proceedings without those documents.
- Claims the committee was conducting an adversarial, not impartial, process.
- Allegations that the committee’s composition was improper.
- The court ruled that raising these issues again at the High Court constituted duplicative litigation.
Reliefs Dismissed for Lack of Jurisdiction
The remaining claims were struck out because the High Court lacked authority over them. These included:
- Allegations of unfair hearing.
- Claims that her lawyers were barred from representing her.
- Alleged breaches of constitutional procedure and civil rules.
- A request for certiorari to nullify the committee’s work.
Justice Amoako explained that under Article 146(8), proceedings of such committees are confidential and not open to judicial scrutiny.
