Removed Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, has filed an application for judicial review at the High Court, challenging the legality of her removal from office as a Supreme Court Judge.
The former judge is praying for the court to grant multiple declarations that the President acted outside the powers conferred by the 1992 Constitution when he issued a removal warrant on September 1, 2025, removing her from the office of Chief Justice and as a Justice of the Superior Court of Judicature.
She argues that the procedure set out under Article 146 of the Constitution, which mandates an inquiry by a properly constituted body before a Superior Court judge can be removed, was not followed.
The case, titled The Republic v. Attorney-General, Ex Parte Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo, cites Articles 23 and 141 of the Constitution and Order 55 of C.I. 47.
The application aims to clarify the extent of presidential authority regarding the removal of superior court judges, a matter with significant implications for judicial independence and constitutional governance in Ghana.
She wants the court, among other things,
Declare that the President has no authority to remove a Justice of the Superior Court without adhering to the constitutionally required process.
Declare that jurisdiction to hear any removal petition against a Justice of the Superior Court lies solely with a body established under Article 146(4).
Declare that the President’s warrant of removal is “unlawful, null, void, and of no effect.”
