Supreme Court holds exclusive authority in Witchcraft, Armed Forces Bills’ constitutionality – Bagbin

Read Time: 2 minutes

Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has maintained that President Akufo-Addo lacks the authority to determine the constitutionality of the Criminal Offences Amendment Bill 2023, 1 and 2, and the Ghana Armed Forces Amendment Bill 2023.

Bagbin argued that the Supreme Court is the sole authority responsible for determining the constitutionality of the bills.

He emphasizes that any allegations of misuse should be addressed by the Supreme Court and not by any other entity.

President Akufo-Addo, in a letter, justified his refusal by citing financial implications on the state’s consolidated fund and potential breaches of Article 108 of the Constitution.

The President specifically pointed to the Ghana Armed Forces Amendment  Bill 

, sponsored by MP Francis Xavier Sosu, as having financial burdens linked to replacing the death penalty with life imprisonment.

In his official response to the President, the Speaker of Parliament stressed, “The determination of any unconstitutionality is the sole purview of the Supreme Court, not the President.” Bagbin emphasized that if there were concerns about Parliament exceeding its constitutional authority, the appropriate course of action would be to bring the matter before the Supreme Court, rather than the President making an executive declaration of unconstitutionality.

“Again, the constitutional discretion vested in the presiding officer of Parliament, as per Article 108 and subject to Article 296, suggests that any allegations of misuse of this discretion should be contested in a court of competent jurisdiction, rather than being pre-emptively adjudicated upon by the President,” added Bagbin.