AG moves to strike out suspended CJ's suit against Shining Stars Petition

The Office of the Attorney-General has filed a motion to strike out a fresh judicial review application by suspended Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, who is attempting to have one of three removal petitions against her thrown out.

The latest challenge, filed on 23 June 2025, targets a petition from a group called the Shining Stars of Ghana. Justice Torkornoo’s legal team argues the petition is invalid because the group is unregistered and its membership is unidentifiable.

Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai, however, has dismissed the claim, stressing that under the law, “a body of persons—whether named or unnamed…need not be incorporated or registered to exist.”

This is the Chief Justice’s second attempt to use the High Court to halt the work of the Article 146 removal committee. An earlier application to strike out all three petitions and suspend the Justice Pawmang Committee’s sittings was dismissed as an abuse of process and beyond the court’s jurisdiction.

The Attorney-General’s office insists the latest arguments relate to the committee’s internal, in-camera proceedings, which are shielded from High Court interference under the Constitution. It maintains the court has no jurisdiction over matters arising from Article 146 processes.