Accra: A former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Nii Ayikoi Otoo, has criticized the decision to hear certain cases in court during the legal vacation, describing it as unfair and inconsistent with the intended purpose of the two-month break.
According to Ghana Web, Ayikoi Otoo expressed his concerns in an interview on Joy FM, where he elaborated on the significance of the legal vacation as a period of rest for lawyers and judges following a demanding legal year. He explained that the legal vacation spans August and September and is meant to provide a necessary break for legal professionals to re-energize.
"You know lawyers work from the opening of the legal year, which is around October. Then we have a short break during Christmas, then we continue, and then we come to what we call the long vacation, which is from August, the whole of August and September, two months," Otoo explained.
Otoo emphasized that while the concept of a legal vacation might have historical origins, it has become an established period for rest. He noted, "At least what we have all come to look at is that you have a two-month period, the whole of August and the whole of September, where we do not work. It is a period of rest."
He further pointed out that this principle of rest applies to judges of the superior courts, including the High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court. Despite practicing law for about 45 years since being called to the Bar in 1981, Otoo remarked that he has never encountered a situation where the Chief Justice routinely directed lawyers to appear during the legal vacation for substantive cases.
Otoo highlighted that vacation courts are typically intended to handle urgent applications that cannot be postponed until after the vacation. "Normally during the legal vacation of the superior courts, there are vacation judges. What happens particularly within the High Courts is that there are vacation judges whose limit generally is to deal with urgent applications," he explained.
He clarified that while superior courts observe the legal vacation, circuit and magistrate courts continue to operate, largely serving junior lawyers. The former Attorney General expressed particular concern over reports that lawyers are being required to appear during the legal vacation for ongoing substantive cases.
His remarks come amid a growing disagreement between the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and the Judiciary over the continuation of some criminal trials during the legal vacation, highlighting the tension surrounding this issue within the legal community.