According to Ghana’s Constitution, Justice Sophia Essah, a nominee to the Supreme Court, cannot hold the dual roles of judge and lawyer.
She contends that a person can only practise one of these professions after entering the other because the functions of a judge and a lawyer are different.
“You cannot be in this country as a lawyer and at the same time, a judge. Because the work of a lawyer is different from a judge. I cannot go and be an advocate, have clients, or represent anyone in court. That is the work of a lawyer.
“And so once I became a judge, I could no longer be a lawyer even though I have legal professional knowledge and background,” she said during her vetting on Tuesday, August 13.
Her comments were in response to a question from National Democratic Congress MP for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, who brought up the fact that the Constitution stipulates that a lawyer must practice for at least 15 years in order to be eligible to serve as a Supreme Court judge.
According to the Constitution, a candidate for the Supreme Court must possess strong moral principles, a track record of integrity, and at least 15 years of experience practicing law, Mr. Ayariga pointed out.
He thus questioned if Justice Essah had gone beyond the allotted 15 years.
Justice Essah responded by making it clear that she reads the constitutional clause in a different way than Mr. Ayariga and by saying that this clause makes her qualified to be appointed to the Supreme Court.