More details are emerging from the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) 2025 mid-year conference held at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra on April 26, 2025, where a resolution for the revocation of the suspension of Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo, was passed.
A member of the association, in an interview with ChannelOne TV, disclosed that fewer than 1% of the registered members of the association, who are more than 5,000, took part in the passage of the resolution.
He said that out of the 3,000 active members of the association, only 52 voted on the resolution against the suspension of the Chief Justice at the mid-year conference.
Out of the 52 lawyers who took part in the passage of the resolution, 47 voted in favour, while 5 voted against it.
These details have been corroborated by a post shared on X by journalist, Kwaku Asante, who indicated that fewer than 100 members of the Bar were at the conference.
He stated that aside from the 52 members who took part in the voting, the others abstained.
The GBA has come under heavy scrutiny following the release of the details of its passed resolution.
The details confirm earlier reports that the GBA is demanding that President John Dramani Mahama revoke the suspension of Chief Justice Torkornoo.
The association stated that the suspension of the Chief Justice by President Mahama was unconstitutional.
It argued that Mahama was not a judicial officer and there are no laws currently that give him the power to use his discretion to suspend the Chief Justice.
“The Ghana Bar Association calls for the immediate revocation of the suspension of the Chief Justice, as it considers the suspension to be unconstitutional, considering the fact that the President, who is not a judge or judicial officer, exercised his discretion to suspend the Chief Justice under Article 146(10) of the 1992 Constitution in the absence of a published Constitutional Instrument, Statutory Instrument, or Regulation(s) governing the exercise of his said discretion as required by Article 296 of the 1992 Constitution,” part of the resolution reads.
The association also demanded that President Mahama immediately release details of the determination of the prima facie case by the President and the Council of State.
“In addition, the Ghana Bar Association calls upon the President of the Republic of Ghana to immediately release the full decision establishing a prima facie case against the Chief Justice, consistent with established precedent. This disclosure is necessary to ensure that the process is conducted in accordance with the principles of transparency and fairness,” it said.
Furthermore, the GBA demanded the withdrawal of a directive from the Acting Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, concerning the assignment of courts and the fixing of dates for newly filed cases and applications.
BAI/AE
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