A petition has been submitted to President Nana Akufo-Addo, calling for the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo from office over alleged misbehaviour and incompetence.

The petition, dated Tuesday, 17 December 2024, accuses the Chief Justice of alleged misconduct and incompetence in her administrative capacity as head of the judiciary.

Relying on Article 146(1) of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, the petitioner, Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, who serves as a D&D Fellow in Public Law and Justice at CDD-Ghana, explained: “The legal basis of my petition is Article 146(1) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. For the avoidance of doubt, my petition focuses on stated misbehaviour and incompetence related to the Chief Justice’s administrative functions as head of the judiciary responsible for its supervision and administration under Article 125(4) of the Constitution.”

Article 146(1) stipulates that a Justice of the Superior Court or a Chairman of a Regional Tribunal can only be removed from office for stated misbehaviour, incompetence, or an inability to perform their duties due to infirmity of body or mind.

Prof Asare clarified that his petition does not challenge any judicial decisions or rulings made by Chief Justice Torkornoo in her capacity as a Supreme Court judge.

“Accordingly, the petition does not challenge any decisions, orders, or directives issued by the Chief Justice in the performance of her duties as a justice of the Supreme Court, including those made to enforce judgments, decrees, or orders in cases she has adjudicated,” he stated.

The petitioner alleged that the Chief Justice’s administrative actions undermine constitutional principles, particularly in judicial appointments. He claimed that she has established “an elaborate scheme of requesting the president to appoint specific judges and later presenting the names for the Judicial Council’s approval,” which, he argued, “subverts the constitutional scheme and converts both the council and president into rubber-stamping her preferred judges.”

Prof Asare also referred to as Kwaku Azar therefore called for a thorough investigation into his claims, adding: “When the petition is being considered at any stage, members of the Judicial Council will be subpoenaed to testify on the matter.”