President of ECOWAS Court of Justice Reiterates Call for Constitutional Amendment

President of ECOWAS Court of Justice Reiterates Call for Constitutional Amendment

30 Aug, 2022 By DIS

The President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, Justice Edward Amoako Asante, has added his voice to the growing calls for the amendment of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution to ensure strong institutions in the country.

Under the current constitution, he maintained that politicians were developing stronger men than stronger institutions in the country.

“Look at what is happening at the Judiciary; they will say the president has appointed his favourite (judges). In Cape Verde for instance, it is a Council (made up of judges and other legal people) that appoints the judges and not the executive. Certain parts need to be changed in the Constitution” he continued.

Justice Asante was addressing the ninth Jurists’ Confab organised by the Faculty of Law of University of Cape Coast.

The Confab was on the theme: “Consolidating Democracy, the Rule of Law and Respect for the Ballot in an Era of Good Governance.”

Some participants in the Confab

The President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice pointed out that for the Executive and the Legislature to vet the budget of the Judiciary undermined the assertiveness and independence of the Judiciary.

He added that Ghana’s Supreme Court should take a leaf out of the Kenyan and Malawian Supreme Courts to adjudicate electoral disputes expeditiously.

He called for alignment of the Ghana Card to enable the Electoral Commission to use it to conduct elections.

With the advent of technology, he noted that the announcement of electoral results must not be delayed to cause anxiety among the populace.

 

For her part, the immediate past Dean of the Faculty of Law at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Prof. Lydia Nkansah, urged government to back calls to amend the Constitution.

Immediate past Dean, Faculty of Law-KNUST, Prof. Lydia Nkansah

“Deep down in our hearts, each of us knows that our constitution needs amendments, even if the degree to which it should be amended is contested,”  she underscored.

According to her, many parts of the constitution called for  a review, however, there had not been demonstrable commitments by governments to cause the amendment process.

 

The former Dean cited suffocation of Parliament by Executive dominance; the reluctance of government to support state institutions to deliver on their mandate and the winner-takes-all; as well as political, bureaucratic and administrative responsiveness as some grey areas for constitutional review.

Pro VC-UCC, Prof Rosemond Boohene (in green, centre) in a group photo with some dignitaries and faculty at the Confab

 The Pro Vice-Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Rosemond Boohene, who chaired the event, called on Ghanaians to choose the right democratic governance structure that was in line with the aspirations of Ghanaians.

The University, she underlined, was ready to equip its graduates with employable skills for the job market.

The event had in attendance the Central Regional Police Commander, DCOP Alexander Amenyo.

 

 Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC