Threshold for petitioning to remove Chief Justice inadequate – Prof Agyeman-Duah

Former United Nations Senior Governance Advisor, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has criticized the current process for removing the Chief Justice. He called it "woefully inadequate" and urged for urgent reforms to protect democracy.

On April 26, he spoke on Newsfile on JoyNews about the Chief Justice's suspension. He welcomed the timing of this issue as a committee is reviewing the constitution.

Prof Agyeman-Duah believes the threshold for petitioning to remove the Chief Justice needs improvement. He compared it to the stricter process for removing a President or ministers.

He explained that removing a President requires a two-thirds majority in Parliament. In contrast, individuals can submit petitions against the Chief Justice without such requirements.

He questioned whether this system is fair or strong enough. Prof Agyeman-Duah expressed concern about how we manage issues involving a Chief Justice.

He emphasized that the Chief Justice, President, and Speaker are key figures in democracy. Therefore, he believes we should be careful with separation of powers principles.

While he noted that the President has not done anything wrong, he argued for revising constitutional provisions. "The whole process needs review to streamline and raise standards," he said.

He pointed out that in other countries, petitions often require a certain number of signatures. This shows serious and widespread disapproval of actions taken by officials.

Prof Agyeman-Duah stressed Ghana should adopt higher standards for petitions against officials. "We need to raise the bar when petitioning against the Chief Justice," he concluded.