The Constitutional Limits of the Chief Justice’s Administrative Power: Order 79 Rule 1, Legal Vacation and the Boundary Between Judicial Administration and Judicial Power in Ghana

My argument in this article proceeds from a position that will disappoint partisans on both sides of the August 2026 exchange. Against those who now urge that Order 79 rule 1(1) is unconstitutional because it permits the vacation to be displaced at the discretion of one officer, I argue that the rule is a lawful exercise of the rule-making authority conferred by article 157 and that its facial validity is not in serious doubt. Against those who treat the rule as a source of plenary authority sufficient to justify any listing decision the administration of the Judiciary may wish to make, I argue that the discretion the rule confers is structured, purposive and reviewable, and that a directive issued under it may be perfectly lawful in form and thoroughly unconstitutional in operation.