recent article<\/a>, he described the GBA\u2019s support as \u201cdangerous for our Constitution, democracy, and the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nHe cautioned that unqualified loyalty to the Chief Justice\u2019s administrative decisions risks undermining the judicial system\u2019s independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe unbridled support of anything and everything the Chief Justice says or does\u2026borders on sycophancy,\u201d Mr Amidu warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He further stated that citizens should expect judicial decisions that are both independent and transparent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Amidu\u2019s critique extended to the relationship between the judiciary and national security, questioning whether the Chief Justice had acted on independent judgment or based on \u201cinstructions\u2026 from the National Security Council.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He emphasised the need for greater transparency in decisions affecting public access to justice, especially in the wake of electoral season tensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The former Attorney General openly criticised the Chief Justice\u2019s administrative decision to close courts in Bawku and surrounding areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He described as \u201cunprecedented\u201d and detrimental to citizens\u2019 rights the decision to close courts including the regional capital, Bolgatanga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Chief Justice, according to a memorandum issued by the Judicial Secretary, justified the closures as a safety measure due to escalating security concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Mr Amidu deemed the closure rationale as \u201cna\u00efve,\u201d pointing out that Bolgatanga has historically remained unaffected by Bawku\u2019s sporadic violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He stated that \u201cthroughout the Bawku conflict\u2026 the regional capital has never been\u2026 in the conflict area.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The former AG emphasised the potential legal ramifications of suspending court functions just weeks before the national elections, arguing it infringes upon citizens\u2019 access to justice and could disrupt the judicial review of election-related issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe the People demand Parliamentary oversight of the administrative decision\u2026to close the High Court in Bolgatanga and its environs,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Amidu also expressed concern that the closure decision lacked sufficient input from local legal stakeholders, questioning the Chief Justice\u2019s consultations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former Attorney General Martin Amidu has voiced strong criticism of the Ghana Bar Association\u2019s (GBA) unequivocal endorsement of the Chief Justice\u2019s court closures in Bolgatanga. In a recent article, he described the GBA\u2019s support as \u201cdangerous for our Constitution, democracy, and the rule of law.\u201d He cautioned that unqualified loyalty to the Chief Justice\u2019s administrative decisions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2870,1812],"class_list":["post-8804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-news","tag-ghana-bar-association","tag-supreme-court-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8804"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8805,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8804\/revisions\/8805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}