Supreme Court Dismisses Oppong Nkrumah’s Bid to Halt Legal Vacation Proceedings

The Supreme Court has dismissed an interlocutory injunction application filed by Ofoase-Ayirebi Member of Parliament, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, seeking to prevent the Chief Justice from issuing warrants for selected High Court judges to hear criminal cases during the legal vacation.

The decision means the warrants issued by the Chief Justice remain valid, allowing the affected judges to continue sitting and determining criminal matters during the legal vacation.

Delivering the ruling, Justice Pwamang explained that although the Supreme Court has the authority to restrain an act by a public officer through an injunction, an applicant must first establish that the substantive case has a strong prospect of succeeding.

According to the court, until that threshold is met, there would be no basis to proceed to consider the other requirements for granting an interlocutory injunction.

The court also examined Mr Oppong Nkrumah’s reliance on Article 17 of the 1992 Constitution, which provides for equality and protection against discrimination.

The Supreme Court found no evidence showing that the Chief Justice’s directive was discriminatory.

It noted that the warrants, on their face, instructed the selected judges to deal with cases already pending before their respective courts. The court further observed that there was no allegation or evidence that the decision to allow the judges to sit was based on the colour, gender or religion of any accused person or witness.

The court also rejected the argument that the Chief Justice’s decision to exercise his discretion and direct certain judges to sit during the legal vacation constituted discrimination.

On the applicant’s reliance on C.I. 47, the Supreme Court held that the argument was misplaced. It explained that the instrument applies to civil proceedings, whereas the application before the court concerned criminal cases.

The dismissal therefore leaves the Chief Justice’s warrants authorising the designated High Court judges to hear criminal matters during the legal vacation intact.