The Chief Justice in her written response to President John Dramani Mahama, firmly rejected allegations by a civic group, Shining Stars of Ghana, that she breached the rules of natural justice in a recent high-profile Supreme Court case involving the Speaker of Parliament.

In a petition to the President, the group claimed that the Chief Justice demonstrated incompetence in presiding over Afenyo Markin v Speaker of Parliament & Attorney General (J1/02/2025), which challenged the Speaker’s declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant.

They argued that the Speaker was not granted a hearing before the court ruled, and that no affidavit or legal arguments were filed by him, thereby violating the audi alteram partem principle.

According to the petitioners, “the Chief Justice who presided over the suit… breached the same rules [of natural justice] in the process of making such determination,” and described this as an act of incompetence.

But in a detailed response to the President on 7 April 2025, the Chief Justice dismissed the petition, referencing a prior determination on similar grounds by former President Nana Akufo-Addo and the Council of State.

She noted that in December 2024, a similar petition had been submitted by Professor Asare, raising the same concerns. That petition was rejected after the President and the Council of State found no constitutional breach or evidence of incompetence.

“This same august constitutional forum… has concluded a determination on this issue,” the Chief Justice wrote, invoking res judicata to argue that the matter had already been conclusively addressed.

She further clarified that the decision in question was not hers alone, but that of the Supreme Court, which comprised a panel of not fewer than five Justices in accordance with Article 128 of the Constitution.

“In the conduct of the work of the Supreme Court… none of the Judges who participate in a decision can be singled out for criticism of the legal import or effect of the court’s work,” she stated.

Citing Article 127(3), the Chief Justice emphasized judicial immunity, pointing out that judges cannot be removed or sued for the decisions they render in the exercise of judicial power.

She concluded that the petition lacked merit and amounted to an attempt to relitigate judicial decisions through administrative means: “Judicial decisions may be re-examined only through judicial processes that are provided for by law.”

The Shining Stars of Ghana are one of three groups that have separately petitioned the President to initiate impeachment proceedings against the Chief Justice.