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Lawyers representing accused persons in criminal trials listed for hearing during the legal vacation have protested the hearing of proceedings during the legal vacation raising concerns of discrimination and unconstitutionality of proceedings during legal vacation.
Lawyers in the case of Republic v Adu-Boahene (Case No. CR/0418/2026); Republic v Hanan Abdul Wahab (CR/0530/2026) and Republic v Mustapha Hamid & Ors (Case No. CR/0530/2026) have filed petitions at the Office of the Chief Justice protesting the discrimination of the directive from the Chief Justice and the unconstitutionality of same. The said petitions have been received by the office of the Chief Justice with copies of same served on the National Secretariat of the Ghana Bar Association.
Unconstitutionality - We are not available for Court
Per the contention of Messrs Dame & Partners and Zoe, Akyea & Co., lawyers for Hanan Abdul Wahab & Adu-Boahene respectively, the conduct of the Chief Justice dishing out warrant to judges to sit during the legal vacation to conduct criminal trial offends the constitution and smacks of discriminatory conduct against their clients who hold a particular political affiliation.
Per the petition of Messrs Dame & Partners (a copy which is below), they say that "Messrs. Dame & Partners, having worked throughout the legal year and cooperated for the conduct of the instant criminal matter, are not in the position to attend court in the vacation for the conduct of the trial. The lead counsel, the undersigned, wil take advantage of the legal vacation to attend to many matters of immense importance (as all lawyers around the country do in the legal vacation). The other senior lawyer working on the brief, Richard Gyambiby, a lecturer in Criminal Procedure at the Ghana School of Law, is attending to an equally important national assignment of marking examination papers for students of the Ghana School of Law. Following the end of this national assignment, he wil be away on other equally important engagements. There is thus no lawyer available to conduct the matter in the legal vacation. The right of an accused person to counsel of his choice is undoubtedly constitutional."
In the case of Zoe, Akyea & Co., they say that
2 days ago
30th Jul, 2026
16th Jul, 2026
11th Jul, 2026
12th May, 2026
Discrimination
Per the petition of Dame & Partners, "the directive for Justice Achibonga to sit in the legal vacation is unprecedented and may hint at discriminatory treatment. The handpicking of a few criminal cases from among the many hundreds of criminal cases around the Greater-Accra Region for hearing in the vacation may unnecessarily expose Your Lordship to accusations of unfair and discriminatory treatment. An accused person standing trial before the courts is entitled to know that his trial will be subjected to the same procedures as any other criminal trial and not taken through a special set of procedures crafted for him in a specialised court. There is no criminal trial which is being commenced, or is being continued in the High Court in the legal vacation."
According Zoe, Akyea & Co., "With respect, this directive to continue with the part-heard trial risks exposing Your Lordship to claims of selective justice. Numerous other cases of repute, both criminal and civil, have been placed at a standstill-by the legal vacation and adjourned to October and November 2026, to afford both judges and lawyers rest during the vacation."
Obour & Yahaya petition
The learned Augustine Obour, Counsel for Hajia Faiza Wuni, second accused in (Case No. CR/0530/2026) and the learned Hanifa Yahaya Counsel for Mr. Mustapha Hamid in Republic v Mustapha Hamid & Ors (Case No. CR/0530/2026) have expressed similar sentiments to the Chief Justice. They indicate their unavailability for representation during the legal vacation and request for adjournments for proceedings in the next legal year which commences in October.
SEE PETITIONS BELOW
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