CJ’s Removal Petitions: H Kwasi Prempeh expresses concern about secrecy of Article 146

Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh is the Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development. He has raised concerns about Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution. This article deals with the removal petitions for a Chief Justice (CJ).

In a statement, Prof Prempeh shared two main issues with Article 146. His first concern is its secrecy and lack of transparency regarding removal petitions.

He stated that even if proceedings are private, findings should be public. The public deserves to know the reasons behind a petition's success or failure.

Prof Prempeh emphasized that justice requires transparency in these matters. The public should be able to judge whether justice was served.

His second concern involves who serves on the removal Committee. He believes no sitting judge should be part of this five-person Committee.

Judges may have an interest in the outcome when it involves their colleague or boss. Instead, he suggested using retired jurists or former public servants for this role.

Prof Prempeh also proposed that non-lawyer members of the Committee should be chosen differently. They should not just be appointed by the President and Council of State as currently stated in Article 146.

He argued for a more politically inclusive and neutral selection process. "It’s better to keep a President out of the removal process," he said, "except to implement the final outcome."