According to a report by Ghanaweb, the Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Justice Srem Sai, has explained why the government of Ghana has not yet filed a defense in the case brought against it by former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo at the ECOWAS Court.
Speaking in an interview on TV3 on Thursday, September 4, 2025, the Deputy Attorney General said the government’s position is that the ECOWAS Court does not have jurisdiction over the matter, and until that issue is settled, no defense will be filed.
“This dawn, we woke up to another process which was served on us from the court that the former Chief Justice is seeking judgment in default of defense. In other words, we’ve not defended the substantive suit; we had 30 days to do that and so we have not filed our defense,” he disclosed.
He stressed that the government was not ignoring the case but waiting for the court to first rule on the question of jurisdiction.
“…but our preliminary thought is that, if we are objecting to the jurisdiction of the court, and the court has taken arguments and has adjourned to give a ruling one way or the other, we do not exactly think that we have to file on the substantive issue.
This is because the question before the court is whether the court has jurisdiction or not,” he explained.
Justice Srem Sai also pointed out that the ECOWAS Court did not instruct the Attorney General’s office to file both a defense and the preliminary objection together.
“The court in adjourning didn’t give any further direction. They told us that they are rising and then they have adjourned the case indefinitely, and when they come back, they will give us further directions. So, we were waiting for the court to give us further direction only to be served with a notice for default of defense,” he added.
The Deputy Attorney General said the government will now file an application to oppose the request for a default judgment.
Justice Torkornoo, suspended by President John Dramani Mahama in April 2025 after three misconduct petitions, filed her lawsuit at the ECOWAS Court on July 4, 2025.
She is demanding $10 million in compensation, revocation of her suspension, and an end to the removal proceedings, arguing that her rights to dignity, fair hearing, and fair working conditions were violated.
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