Ghana Bar Association asks Chief Justice to enforce legal vacation rules
Ghana’s Bar Association has asked Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie to ensure judges follow established rules governing the country’s legal vacation, particularly when lawyers have said they are unavailable to appear in court.
The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) says lawyers should not be compelled to attend court during the legal vacation, which runs from 1 August to 30 September.
It said the period is intended to provide judges, lawyers and judicial staff with a break from the demanding court
calendar.
Vacation Courts can still sit during this period to deal with urgent and interlocutory matters, the association said.
However, the GBA argued that the longstanding practice is for Vacation Courts not to conduct trials, particularly where the absence of a lawyer would prevent effective participation in proceedings.
In a letter to the Chief Justice on Monday, the association said cases should be adjourned if lawyers had notified the court that they could not attend during the vacation.
“Counsels are not under any compulsion whatsoever to appear before a Vacation Court,” the GBA said.
It was responding to complaints from three law firms about notices directing their lawyers to appear before judges to continue hearing part-heard criminal cases during the current legal vacation.
The association said such directives undermined the purpose of the vacation and departed from established judicial practice.
It urged the Chief Justice to take steps to ensure judges respect the rules and traditions governing the period.
The GBA said doing so would allow lawyers to rest while ensuring they are able to participate effectively when their attendance is required.
The intervention comes amid continuing efforts by Ghana’s judiciary to manage a large backlog of cases while maintaining the rights of parties and their lawyers.
The legal vacation is a longstanding feature of Ghana’s judicial calendar.
Read the full statement below: