Justice Sir Dennis Proposes Ceding Supreme Court Powers to Ease "Overburdened" Caseload

Justice Sir Dennis Proposes Ceding Supreme Court Powers to Ease "Overburdened" Caseload

Justice Adjei notes Ghana is one of only three nations with a Supreme Court exercising supervisory jurisdiction, calling for reforms during his vetting.

Supreme Court nominee Justice Sir Dennis Dominic Adjei has called for a fundamental review of the Supreme Court's powers, arguing the nation's highest court is overburdened by a unique and heavy caseload.

During his vetting by Parliament's Appointments Committee, Justice Adjei asserted that Ghana is one of only three countries in the world—alongside Sierra Leone and the Philippines—to vest its Supreme Court with supervisory jurisdiction. This supervisory role, which allows the Supreme Court to oversee the functions of all lower courts and administrative bodies, combined with its appellate jurisdiction—the power to hear appeals from those courts—contributes significantly to its workload, he argued in response to a question from Hon. Patrick Boamah.

"About forty per cent of cases at the Supreme Court are supervisory jurisdiction," Justice Adjei stated, providing a stark statistic to back his claim. "To manage the workload of the Supreme Court, the time has come to consider a review of the court's jurisdiction with the view to ceding some of its jurisdiction, including appellate jurisdiction, to other courts."

His proposal, which could have significant implications for Ghana’s judicial system, has already sparked debate and found support from legal experts.

Commenting on the proposal, Lawyer Kwame Koduah, a law lecturer at the Wisconsin International University College, endorsed the idea. He suggested the ongoing constitutional review process should consider "reengineering the Supreme Court as a Constitutional court to focus on constitutional enforcement and interpretation."

Koduah added that a review of the court’s scope would allow for "a more meaningful engagement on the reasonable cap of judges at the Supreme Court," a debate he noted has often lacked the context of the court’s immense workload.

The vetting process for Justice Adjei and six other nominees continues, with the Appointments Committee of Parliament scrutinising their suitability for the Supreme Court bench.