Accra: Nigerian lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, who represented former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo before the ECOWAS Court, has criticised the court's decision to dismiss her human rights case.
According to Ghana Web, in an exclusive interview with Mandy Agyemang, Falana described the judgment as a departure from the court's established legal principles, arguing that it failed to apply the same standards used in similar cases. He stated that Torkornoo had sought relief over alleged violations of her rights to a fair hearing, work, information, and dignity but found the court's departure from its previous decisions troubling.
Falana argued that the court wrongly declined to examine the reasons for Torkornoo's removal, viewing it as interference in Ghana's domestic affairs. He cited earlier cases involving judges from Nigeria, The Gambia, and Liberia where the ECOWAS Court assessed the disciplinary processes and the grounds for removal, suggesting inconsistency in the court's approach.
"The court claimed that it could not look at the reasons advanced for sacking her because that would amount to interfering in the domestic affairs of Ghana," Falana stated. He underscored that in cases from other countries, the court scrutinized the reasons for judges' removal and criticized the composition of the investigating committees, implying a double standard.
Falana highlighted that some allegations against Torkornoo lacked validity, such as the deployment of judicial staff and travel with her husband, which were within legal bounds. He also took issue with the committee's composition that investigated Torkornoo, noting that two Supreme Court justices on the committee had previously sat with Torkornoo on cases used against her, thus violating the principle of "nemo judex in causa sua."
He further criticized the court's stance that President John Dramani Mahama was not obliged to provide reasons for determining a prima facie case against Torkornoo, referencing a Ghana Supreme Court decision that such determinations require reasons.
Falana also addressed the alleged violation of the right to a fair hearing. He claimed that the Pwamang Committee, which probed petitions against Torkornoo, submitted its report to the President before the scheduled hearing for adopting written addresses, undermining procedural fairness.
On the issue of access to information, Falana disputed the court's finding that Torkornoo's right had not been violated due to a lack of formal request for the committee's report. He referenced a video allegedly showing a senior official stating the government's decision not to release the report, challenging the court's stance that Torkornoo's rights were not infringed.
Falana concluded that several aspects of the judgment represented a departure from established legal principles and ECOWAS Court jurisprudence, underscoring his concerns about the court's handling of the case.