Following the dismissal of her action by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) court, the Former Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo has filed an application at the Supreme Court seeking a review of orders made by the Court on May 28, 2026, in proceedings relating to petitions for her removal from office.
Gertrude Torkornoo, after her removal and failed efforts to quash the decision to remove her, filed an application with the ECOWAS Court, challenging her removal and the process that led to her removal from office as Chief Justice and Justice of Ghana’s Supreme Court.
The court, delivering its ruling on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, unanimously dismissed all seven claims brought by former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo against the Republic of Ghana, rejecting her request for $10 million in damages.
The court ruled that Ghana did not violate her rights to a fair hearing, dignity, information, or work under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
After encountering such a major setback, Gertrude Torkornoo has subsequently filed a motion on notice, pleading with the Supreme Court to review its decision of May 28, 2026, pursuant to Article 133 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana and Rules 54, 55 and 56 of the Supreme Court Rules.
The application is supported by an affidavit in which Justice Torkornoo argues that the orders made by the Court on that date resulted in a miscarriage of justice, denied her the constitutional right to be heard, and breached a fundamental principle of natural justice.
According to the affidavit, the court had noted that although her case was represented by Godfred Yeboah Dame, he filed a notice of withdrawal, leaving her with no legal representation during the case management proceedings.
The absence of the Attorney General was also noted.
She argues that the Court made significant procedural and substantive orders, such as consolidating the two cases and scheduling the judgment of the consolidated case, even after acknowledging that it could not assume she had been informed by her lawyer about the withdrawal of the case.
She contends that these actions amount to exceptional circumstances that justify a review of the Court’s decision. She also alleges that the Court’s order requiring personal service of the May 28, 2026, proceedings and related notices on her was not followed. Instead, the Registrar served the documents on the office of her lawyer in a separate case on June 12, 2026. The filing states that her lawyer, Kwabena Adu-Kusi, was travelling outside the country at the time of service. It was only after checking court registry records that her team discovered the Registrar had skipped personal service on Justice Torkornoo by obtaining a special ex parte order to serve her lawyer instead.
By: Fredrick Kofi Amponsah
