Legal vacation trials: Chief Justice has power to order specific cases heard – Young Lawyers Forum President

Noah Ephraem Adamtey Tetteh, president of the Young Lawyers Forum of the Ghana Bar Association, has defended the Chief Justice's authority to direct specific cases be heard during legal vacations. In an interview on Joy News’ PM Express, Tetteh rejected arguments that vacation courts are strictly limited to interlocutory matters and emergency applications. He argued that such a position does not reflect legal practice and the law as he has experienced it.

The debate over the Chief Justice's directive for certain cases, including the trial of former National Signals Bureau Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene, to proceed during legal vacations came to the fore. The Ghana Bar Association argued that vacation courts traditionally deal with interlocutory matters, motions and emergency applications, not trials.

Tetteh pointed out that the distinction between substantive and procedural matters is not always clear-cut. He cited summary judgment applications and motions that terminate a case as examples of matters that can arise during vacations and have a direct impact on the substance of a case. He also mentioned applications for judgment on admission, stating that such motions bring the matter to a close and are not merely procedural.

Tetteh urged the debate to focus on two separate issues: whether the Chief Justice's warrant directed judges to perform specific acts and whether the directive meant that the Adu-Boahene case must be heard. He emphasized that the Chief Justice asked judges to do specific acts, distinguishing his point from the suggestion that the directive interferes with judicial independence.