I have faith in the Supreme Court – Abdulai
Deputy Speakers can’t vote while presiding over the house – Abdulai insists
Lawyer Justice Abdulai has stated that filing for a review to challenge the illegality of the passage of the 2022 budget is not a useless exercise.
In a Joy News interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Justice Abdulai said that he believes that the Supreme Court Justices are reasonable people and are likely to change their minds if his arguments are right.
Asked whether his review application was an exercise in futility, Abdulai said, “that I cannot agree. That is prejudicing this whole application and pre-judging the outcome of it. I think that part is not healthy for the Supreme Court.
“I think we should expect the supreme court to be able to change their mind. We should accord them that level of respect that they are capable of changing their mind when a reasoned argument is made before them. They have that ability. They are not robots they are human beings and these are very intelligent lawyers who have become Supreme Court Judges and so if you make a strong case before them, I have every faith that they will listen to it and made give you a positive answer,” he added.
He indicated that the reasons for his review are sound and the justices of the supreme court will listen to him and give a fair judgment.
He also refuted suggestions that his review application will be affected by a suit filed by members of the minority caucus in Parliament for the court to annul the passage of the E-Levy, citing the ruling of the Supreme court on his case on the need for a quorum for decision making in the house.
“Their case is grounded on the existing law, i.e., the Justice Abdulai versus the Attorney-General and it has not been heard yet. As a matter of fact, my review could affect theirs… in this particular case Haruna Iddrisu versus the Attorney-General rather rely on the Justice Abdulai versus the Attorney-General,” he explained.
The Supreme Court in March 2022 ruled that a Deputy Speaker of Parliament can vote while presiding over sitting in the house, contrary to the standing orders of parliament.
According to the highest court of the land, the proper interpretation of Articles 103 and 104 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana shows that Deputy Speakers do not lose their right to take part in decision-making while sitting in the stead of the Speaker.
The court which was presided over by Justice Jones Dotse also ruled that the passing of the budget on November 30, 2021 in which Joseph Osei-Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker counted himself as part of the quorum, was valid.
Also, the court struck out order 109 (3) of the Standing Orders of Parliament which prevented a deputy Speaker presiding from voting, as unconstitutional.
Justice Abdulai in his review is maintaining that Deputy speakers can not vote while presiding over the house.
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Justices of the Supreme Court