Torkornoo’s lawyer says ECOWAS ruling does not affect main case against her removal

Lawyers for former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo say a decision by the ECOWAS Court of Justice to dismiss her bid to temporarily halt an investigative committee’s work has no bearing on the broader human rights case she has lodged against the state.

Her counsel, Nii Ayikoi Otoo, told JoyNews on Wednesday that the ruling dealt only with interim reliefs and left the substantive challenge to her removal fully intact.

Justice Torkornoo took her case to the regional court, alleging breaches of her right to a fair hearing under Ghana’s 1992 Constitution and ECOWAS protocols.

Ghana’s Deputy Attorney General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, argued that the ECOWAS Court lacked jurisdiction because related matters were before domestic courts.

But at a virtual sitting on 19 November 2025, the ECOWAS judges disagreed, finding that the former Chief Justice had made out a prima facie case of fundamental rights violations. The court ruled that the sub judice argument was “misplaced” and confirmed its authority to hear the matter.

Although the court accepted that her application raised human rights concerns, it rejected her request for temporary orders halting the committee’s work. Judges held that she had not demonstrated the urgency required for interim relief, noting that she waited three months after her suspension to seek the order.

Otoo said this dismissal has no practical consequence, as the events she sought to halt—including the work of the committee chaired by Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang and the swearing-in of Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie—have already occurred.

The court has now directed the Government of Ghana to file its response within 30 days, paving the way for a full hearing on the human rights claims.

“The preliminary objection has been dismissed. We now move to the substantive issues, with or without them,” Otoo said, stressing that ECOWAS human rights jurisdiction operates independently of ongoing proceedings in Ghana.

Justice Torkornoo was suspended on 22 April 2025, triggering the committee process that ultimately led to her removal from office.