The Attorney-General has filed a motion at the Human Rights Division of the High Court seeking to strike out an application for judicial review brought by the suspended Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo.
In a sworn affidavit deposed by Reginald Nii Odoi, a State Attorney at the Office of the Attorney-General, the State argues that the Chief Justice’s application suffers from “grave misstatement of capacity” and the “non-inclusion of mandatory and essential parties,” rendering the entire motion legally defective.
According to the affidavit, the issues raised in the Chief Justice’s application have either already been determined by the Supreme Court or are currently pending before it. Specifically, the affidavit cites multiple ongoing or concluded cases—including Justice Gertrude Torkornoo v. Attorney-General & 5 Others (Suit No. J8/113/2025) and Theodore Kofi Atta-Quartey v. Attorney-General (Suit No. J8/109/2025)—as evidence that the Human Rights Court lacks jurisdiction in the matter.
The Attorney-General contends that allowing the Human Rights Court to proceed with the review application would amount to overstepping judicial boundaries and contravening established Supreme Court authority.
“The originating motion is affected by grave misstatement of capacity and non-inclusion of essential parties. These defects go to the very root of jurisdiction,” the affidavit reads. It further states that the reliefs sought in the application for judicial review “are based on matters either previously decided by the Supreme Court or currently pending before it.”
The State is therefore asking the court to strike out the application in its entirety.
The affidavit includes references to several exhibits—marked AG1 to AG5—comprising rulings and court documents from the cited cases.
The Human Rights Court is expected to set a date for hearing the Attorney-General’s motion in the coming days.
