Former Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo has submitted a new application for judicial review at the High Court, challenging the basis of her removal from her position as Head of Ghana’s Judiciary by President John Dramani Mahama.
Justice Torkornoo in her suit which she filed via her legal team is requesting a number of declarations which among them include annulment of the President’s removal order issued on September 1, 2025, which stripped her from her positions as Chief Justice and Justice of the Supreme Court. She argued that it constituted an abuse of authority, highlighting that it lacked authorization under the 1992 Constitution.
She further noted that the process outlined in Article 146 of the Constitution was not adhered to, which requires an investigation by a duly constituted body prior to the removal of a judge from the Superior Court.
Justice Torkornoo is requesting the High Court to grant the following reliefs:
Assert that the President lacks the power to dismiss a Justice of the Superior Court without following the legally mandated procedure.
Assert that the authority to adjudicate any removal petition against a Justice of the Superior Court is exclusively vested in a body constituted under Article 146(4).
Proclaim that the President’s warrant of removal is “unlawful, null, void, and without effect.”
The lawsuit, named The Republic v. Attorney-General, Ex Parte Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo, references Articles 23 and 141 of the Constitution and Order 55 of C.I. 47.
The application aims to examine the extent of presidential authority concerning the dismissal of superior court judges, a subject having significant ramifications for judicial independence and constitutional governance in Ghana.
