Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has announced plans by Parliament to seek legal interpretation following President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s decision not to sign some bills passed by the House
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, last year, refused to sign the Criminal Offences Bill of 2022, the Witchcraft Bill, and the Armed Forces Bill of 2023.
The Speaker of Parliament, however, has stated that they would seek interpretation in court.
“I want to end up by assuring you that I will definitely be in touch with my good friend the president, his excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo even though I disagree with him in his refusal to assent to our bills and I have given notice that we will be in court about this matter,” he was quoted as saying.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, believes that President Akufo-Addo cannot assess the validity of the Bills in question since that is the unique domain of the Supreme Court, and that any claims of misuse should be disputed by it alone.
President Akufo-Addo particularly mentioned the Ghana Armed Forces Amendment Bill, supported by MP Francis-Xavier Sosu, as having financial implications from replacing the death sentence with life imprisonment.
In an official answer to the president, the Speaker of Parliament stated, “The determination of any unconstitutionality is solely the responsibility of the Supreme Court, not the President. As a result, if there were concerns about Parliament going outside its constitutional jurisdiction, i.e., acting supra vires, the appropriate line of action would be an action before the Supreme Court rather than an administrative pronouncement 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.”
