Your rulings fail to meet the basic standards of a reasoned judgement – Asiedu Nketiah fires Supreme Court
“YOUR RULINGS FAIL TO MEET THE BASIC STANDARDS OF A REASONED JUDGMENT” – ASIEDU NKETSIAH JABS SC
The General Secretary for the National Democratic Congress, Johnson Asiedu Nketsiah, has described recent judgments of the Supreme Court as rulings that fail in many respects to meet the basic standards of a reasoned judgment.
Speaking during a Press Conference in Accra on Friday, the NDC chief scribe said the Supreme Court has handed down some judgments and rulings that do not make any legal or factual sense because the court failed to assign any reasons for these judgments. He said this is likely to make the justice system the butt of jokes among other democracies in Africa and the world at large.
“In recent times, our Supreme Court has handed down some judgments and rulings that do not make any legal or factual sense because the court failed to assign any reasons for these judgments. Two examples will suffice.
“It is instructive to note that in the recent case of Abdul Malik Kweku Baako vrs Attorney General, *(Suit No. J1/225/2018), which had raised certain important constitutional questions about the impeachment proceedings of Mrs Charlotte Osei the then Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, the apex court simply declared that:
“After listening to counsel in the matter on the question whether the instant action is a proper invocation of our original jurisdiction and also having regard to the processes filed in this matter, we are of the view that the action does not raise any issue of interpretation or enforcement. Accordingly, we strike out the action which in our view is unmeritorious,” he quoted.
“This cryptic judgment fails in many respects to meet the basic standards of a reasoned judgment. It is devoid of an analysis of the facts of the case, the case and arguments presented by the parties, the legal principles upon which the judgment is based, and how those legal principles apply or do not apply to the facts of the case. As to be expected, this judgment cannot form the basis of any legal precedent, suggesting that it was a judgment of convenience fashioned out solely to deny justice to Mrs Charlotte Osei, and once its immediate intended purpose has been achieved the judgment ceases to have any legal relevance in subsequent cases,” he argued.
He said the NDC notes that the phenomenon of unreasoned court judgments has become so commonplace, especially in cases with high political stakes, adding that the NDC believes that unreasoned judgments violate fundamental principles of justice and fair trial.
“We wonder whether this phenomenon of unreasoned judgments is a clear manifestation of dereliction of judicial duties,” he said.
Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketiah called on the Judicial Council to institute an internal inquiry to ascertain the reasons for these blunders and appropriate recommendations made to the Chief Justice to forestall their recurrence until appropriate legislation, such as a Judicial Proceedings Bill, is passed by Parliament to regulate the writing of judgments by our courts.
“The NDC will also petition Parliament for the Judiciary Committee of the House to conduct a public inquiry into the reasons for the blunders committed by the Supreme Court in the 2020 Presidential Election Petition and other cases with the view to proposing appropriate remedial legislation,” he added.
