Prof. Agyeman-Duah calls for higher threshold for petitioning to remove CJ

Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, a former Senior Governance Advisor to the United Nations, has called for significant reforms to the constitutional framework governing the removal of Ghana's Chief Justice, describing the current system as dangerously inadequate for safeguarding the nation’s democracy.

Speaking on the Newsfile program on Saturday, Prof. Agyeman-Duah welcomed the fact that this conversation is emerging alongside efforts to review the 1992 Constitution. 

He argued that the threshold for initiating the removal of high-ranking officials like the Chief Justice and the Electoral Commission Chair is far too low and needs to be urgently reconsidered.

He contrasted the process with the more stringent mechanisms applied to the President and ministers, which require parliamentary approval by a two-thirds majority before any action can be taken. In contrast, he noted, individual citizens can simply file a petition to trigger proceedings against the Chief Justice.

Prof. Agyeman-Duah questioned the fairness of this structure, emphasizing that such an important office demands a higher standard of protection to maintain the balance of power. "Considering that the Chief Justice, the President, and the Speaker are the key pillars of our democratic system, the rules governing their removal must be robust and reflective of their significance," he asserted.

While acknowledging that no constitutional breach had yet occurred in the current situation, he insisted that the broader legal framework needed an overhaul. 

Drawing from international practices, Prof. Agyeman-Duah suggested that Ghana could require petitions to be backed by a significant number of signatures to demonstrate broad public concern, thereby filtering out frivolous or politically motivated attempts.