Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo has filed a High Court application seeking to halt any move to appoint a new Chief Justice following her removal by the President, pending the outcome of her judicial review challenge against the Article 146 committee’s recommendation.
Details
In Justice Torkornoo’s application for judicial review filed at the High Court, she is also asking the Court for five other beliefs. Among them are first, “an order of certiorari bringing up into this court for the purpose of being quashed and for quashing, the proceedings of the 15 May 2025 and the entire proceedings and outcomes of the Article 146 set up to consider petitions to remove the Applicant (Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo) chaired by Pwamang JSC (“Pwamang Committee” or “Committee”).
Second, “an order of certiorari bringing up into this court for the purpose of being quashed and for quashing, each and all of the three reasons/grounds given by the Pwamang Committee for recommending the removal of the Applicant from office as Chief Justice as stated in the letter of the Secretary to the President dated 1st September 2025.
Third, “An order of certiorari bringing up into this court for the purpose of being quashed and for quashing the Presidential Warrant dated 1 September 2025 removing Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo from office as Chief Justice and Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Ghana,” and lastly, “any other relief(s) the Honourable Court may deem fit to make.”
The application filed by lawyers for Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, led by Kwabena Adu-Kusi, also provided 14 grounds on which they believed the court court to grant their application for review.
Other grounds
Among the grounds provided are “that all of the alleged findings and grounds for recommendations of the Committee set up by the President under Article 146 (6) and (7) of the 1992 Constitution to inquire into and make recommendations in respect of the petitions for the removal of the Applicant as Chief Justice of the Republic and chaired by Pwamang JSC (the Pwamang Committee or the Committee), do not meet, even remotely, the standard of ‘stated misconduct, incompetence or infirmity on ground of inability to perform the functions of office imposed by Article 146 (1) of the 1992 Constitution as the only constitutional reasons that can lead to the removal of the Chief Justice. or Justice of Superior Courts from office.”
The application also contends that “The findings and recommendations of the Committee set up by the President under Article 146 (6) and (7) of the 1992 Constitution to inquire into and make recommendations in respect of the petitions for the removal of the Applicant as Chief Justice of the Republic and chaired by Pwamang JSC, blatantly violate relevant provisions of the 1992 Constitution and are therefore unconstitutional and illegal.”
Justice Torkornoo also states that “the three alleged findings and recommendations for removing the Chief Justice from office by the Pwamang Committee are false, misleading, irrational, absurd and perverse in the Wednesbury sense.”
“The entire findings and grounds of the said Pwamang Committee for removal of the Chief Justice from office are in violation of the Applicant’s Constitutional rights contained in Article 19(13) and 23 of the Constitutional rights.
“The Proceedings of the Committee violated Articles 23, 296, 146(3), 146(7) 280(1) and 295 of the Constitution and are therefore illegal, void and of no effect, having been conducted in breach of the rules of natural iustice and asà adversarial proceedings under C.1.47 instead of an impartial inquiry,” the grounds provided read.
“The entire proceedings of the said Committee were conducted with substantive and fundamental procedural irregularities and unfairness that render the findings and recommendations a nullity,” a part of the grounds provided in the application further read.
Background
Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo was removed from office as Ghana’s Chief Justice in September 2025 after a presidential directive based on findings by a special committee established under Article 146 of the Constitution.
President John Dramani Mahama suspended Torkornoo in April after determining a prima facie case had been made against her following three petitions alleging “stated misbehaviour” and abuse of office. A five-member committee chaired by Supreme Court Justice Gabriel Pwamang was set up to investigate the claims.
The committee’s report cited irregularities in the use of public funds during official travel, breaches of administrative procedure in staff transfers, and questions surrounding recommendations for Supreme Court appointments. It concluded that her conduct amounted to “stated misbehaviour” and recommended her removal.
President Mahama accepted the recommendation and formally removed her from office on September 1, 2025.
Torkornoo, who was appointed Chief Justice in June 2023, denied any wrongdoing and argued that the proceedings were procedurally flawed. Her removal has sparked debate within Ghana’s legal community, with some lawyers questioning the fairness of the process and the interpretation of “stated misbehaviour” under Article 146.
Find below details of the suit
Source: asaaseradio.com
