The Supreme Court has directed counsel involved in the case seeking the abrogation of the agreement between the government of Ghana and America for hosting two former Guantanamo Bay detainees in the country to make further submissions before a decision is taken.
The court had scheduled to give judgment today, May 10 but realised certain issues need to be addressed before a decision is taken, TV3’s Godfred Tanam reports.
The Supreme Court said it has not been able to reach a decision in respect of some of the reliefs the plaintiffs are seeking: plaintiffs say the whole agreement was unconstitutional and needs to be cancelled.
The court said with respect to that they are holding on with their decision, thereby asking counsel for the parties to make further submissions to determine whether or not if Ghana entered into an international agreement which breaches the Constitution of Ghana.
The court also wants counsel to look at the impact of Article 84 which borders on security. The Article gives the National Security Council the power to take decisions that will safeguard the internal and external security of the country.
The court also wants answers to what would happen if the matter is taken to parliament and the house disagrees with the specialised security body.
Parties have been given up to June 24 to deliver their written submissions to the court and appear in the court room on June 27 for the case to be heard.
Two Ghanaian citizens, Margaret Bamful and Henry Nana Boakye, sued the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, together with the Minister of Interior, accusing former President John Mahama of illegally bringing in the two former Gitmo detainees, without recourse to the laws of the land.
The plaintiffs are seeking among other reliefs a “declaration that on a true and proper interpretation of Article 75 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, the President of the Republic of Ghana acted unconstitutionally by agreeing to the transfer of Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby.”
The two had been in detention for 14 years at the Guantanamo Bay, after being linked with terrorist group Al-Qaeda.
Lawyer for the plaintiffs, Nana Adjei Baffour Awuah explained to Midday News on 3FM 92.7 on Wednesday that the court was also interested in how the cancellation of the agreement to host the two will affect Ghana’s relationship with the United States of America.
Since it is a “monumental” case, the Supreme Court directed the counsel to submit their arguments as to whether Ghana can even take a unilateral decision to leave the agreement, he added.
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