Executive Director of the Africa Center for International Law and Accountability (ACILA) William Nyarko has warned that the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill 2025 could face constitutional challenges over the circumstances surrounding its passage in Parliament, even if it receives presidential assent.
William Nyarko of the Africa Center for International Law and Accountability (ACILA) said potential legal challenges may focus not only on alleged infringements of fundamental rights but also on whether Parliament complied with constitutional quorum requirements when approving the legislation.
In a Facebook post following Parliament’s passage of the bill, Nyarko questioned whether the minimum number of lawmakers required under the Constitution were present when the vote was taken.
He cited Article 104(1) of the 1992 Constitution, which requires at least half of all Members of Parliament to be present for the determination of any matter, including the passage of a bill.
With Parliament currently comprising 276 members, at least 138 lawmakers would have been required to be present for the vote to be constitutionally valid, he argued.
Reference
Nyarko referenced the Supreme Court’s ruling in Justice Abdulai v Attorney-General [2022] GHASC 1, which held that while parliamentary debates may proceed with one-third of members present, decisions can only be taken when at least half of all members are in attendance.
“The critical question, therefore, is whether the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill was passed with the constitutionally required quorum of 138 MPs present,” he wrote.
According to Nyarko, information currently available in the public domain does not conclusively answer that question.
Further argument
He argued that if a court later determines that the constitutional quorum requirement was not met, the resulting law could be declared unconstitutional and void regardless of its substantive provisions.
Parliament passed the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill 2025 on Friday.
The legislation, widely known as the anti-LGBT bill, is expected to be forwarded to President John Mahama for consideration.
Akufo-Addo vindicated
The bill includes amendments exempting lawyers who provide legal advice or representation to persons identified as LGBT from sanctions under the law.
For Senior Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, says former President Nana Akufo-Addo has been vindicated following Parliament’s passage of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill 2025 with amendments.
Bentil criticised lawmakers for introducing exemptions into the legislation after previously urging Akufo-Addo to assent to an earlier version of the bill.
In a Facebook post hours after the bill was passed, he argued that the amendments amounted to an acknowledgment that the previous version was flawed.
“It’s the height of hypocrisy to force a clearly flawed Bill on NPP and scream on the rooftops that he should sign it; but when it came to your turn to sign your own bill, you have watered it down to nothing,” he wrote.
Bentil maintained that the inclusion of the exemptions undermined criticism previously directed at Akufo-Addo for withholding assent to the earlier version of the bill.
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