Supreme Court appears to be doing more politics than law – Dr Arthur Kennedy
Physician and political activist, Dr. Arthur Kennedy, is worried over the trajectory of the current Supreme Court, stating that its recent decisions leave much to be desired.
According to him, there have been too many instances that raise questions about the neutrality of the apex court.
His remarks follow the Supreme Court’s recent order for the Speaker of Parliament to stay the execution of his ruling to oust four MPs who declared their intention to run as independent candidates in the upcoming election.
This application was made by Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin.
Based on these developments, Dr Kennedy fears that “on too many occasions, like the Domelevo case, the LGBT case, and in this current case our Supreme Court appears now to be doing more politics than law.”
Dr Kennedy made this comment on Newsfile on Saturday, October 19.
“Because elsewhere in the world, what the judiciary says does not always go and for Ghana’s judiciary, the Supreme Court, to continue to maintain their standing and the respect that they enjoy, they ought to be mindful of where they are in politics.
“It is strange, for example, that Domelevo’s case took as long as it took. It is strange that the LGBT case brutally truncated the law-making process that has been clearly set out and now brakes have been put on it, and all of a sudden this case, we managed to empanel a group of Supreme Courts, and within a day, a ruling have been made.
“When these things keep happening again and again, there is the perception that our judiciary is biased and too political as Kan-Dapaah and former President Mahama did say. I fear that sooner or later, we are going to get into the realm where every new government will insist on having its own Supreme Court and his own Electoral Commission because it does not trust the previous one.”
The activist advocated for guardrails on the Supreme Court, insisting that it is too eager to involve itself in political affairs.
He also noted that its decisions always seem to favor one side.
“So my point is that as a nation, we need to make sure that we put in the guardrails. I think that this judiciary, and particularly this Supreme Court, is too eager to stick its nose in political affairs and to stick it in consistently in a manner that seems to favor one side.”
Dr Kennedy believes a comprehensive review of the judicial regime will ensure some sanity and restore public confidence.
“It is dangerous to the stability of our political quality, and I think that this underlines the need for sweeping judicial reforms,” he added.