Friday, 29 March

Unanimous decisions're a matter of the law being on the side taken by the SC -- Torkornoo parries 'bias' flak against apex court

General News
Justice Torkornoo

Unanimous court decisions are a matter of the law being on the side of the stance taken by the court which the judges cannot go against, Chief Justice nominee Gertrude Torkornoo has told parliament's appointments committee during her vetting on Friday, 26 May 2023.

Critics of the Supreme Court, particularly on the side of the main opposition National Democratic Congress, after former President John Mahama lost his election petition following the 2020 general election, branded the apex court as "Unanimous FC".

Since then, the court has pronounced a streak of unanimous decisions, the most recent one being the 7-0 declaration of the election of Assin North MP James Gyakye Quayson as "unconstitutional" and the issuing of a consequential order to have his name expunged from the parliamentary roll.

Commenting on such unanimous court decision at her vetting, Justice Torkornoo said: "Whenever you encounter a unanimous decision, it tells you that the law is totally on the side of the position taken by the court: that every member of the court, in fidelity to their judicial oath, cannot take a different position. It tells you that that is what the law is".

"So, the only response is to learn from what the law says. It is not a matter of bias. It is a matter of the legal position", she noted.

Source: classfmonline.com/Elikem Adiku