Claims Chief Justice is selectively assigning cases during judicial vacation are false – Prof Kwaku Asare

Ghanaian legal commentator Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare has dismissed allegations that Chief Justice is deliberately assigning specific cases to be heard during the judicial vacation, labeling such claims as "simply false." This statement comes amidst a public debate over the decision to hold high-profile criminal trials during the legal break, following objections from defense lawyers representing Abdul-Hanan Wahab and former National Signals Bureau Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene.

In a Facebook post on August 6, Prof Asare clarified that the practice of assigning judges to sit during judicial vacations is an established rule, as stipulated in court regulations, and not evidence of the Chief Justice selectively picking cases for hearing. According to him, the Chief Justice merely designates certain judges as vacation judges, but these appointments do not involve any instructions to hear particular cases.

Vacation judges, Asare explained, serve two key purposes. Firstly, they handle motions and interlocutory applications in cases assigned to judges on leave, without taking over the substantive hearings of those matters. Secondly, they continue to hear and manage their own assigned cases in the usual manner. The scholars emphasized that these vacation judges exercise their independent judicial discretion in all matters before them, deciding on adjournments, proceeding, or issuing any lawful order without any direction from the Chief Justice or anyone else.

The scholar also addressed concerns raised by defense lawyers regarding the scheduling of court proceedings during the judicial vacation. While acknowledging that lawyers are free to arrange their leave with clients, Asare maintained that they do not have a legal right to insist on court proceedings being suspended due to the vacation. He stressed that lawyers serve their clients, not the Chief Justice or the State, and that the scheduling of court proceedings remains a matter for the courts.

Furthermore, Prof Asare renewed his longstanding call for Ghana's courts to operate throughout the year, rather than observing extended judicial vacations. He argued that judges should take staggered annual leave, with designated vacation judges stepping in to ensure continuity in court operations. Asare contended that justice, as a fundamental public service, should not be effectively suspended for two months each year due to the judicial vacation.