Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo has issued new directions to court clerks and bailiffs regarding the proper procedures for serving court proceedings on key parliamentary officials.

These include the Speaker of Parliament, the Clerk of Parliament and Members of Parliament.

According to a circular issued by the President of the Supreme Court, legal proceedings intended for the President of Parliament must be served on the Legal Department of the Parliamentary Service, and only on Mondays during working hours.

For the Clerk of Parliament, processes should be served directly on the Clerk of Parliament between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Monday or any day of the week from Tuesday to Friday, and this procedure should also apply during parliamentary recess.

The Clerk of Parliament is also required to inform the judiciary of the parliamentary recess schedule.

Concerning MPs, the circular specifies that legal proceedings must be served directly on MPs on Monday or from Tuesday to Friday between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m., as well as during parliamentary holidays.

The directives follow concerns raised by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, who alerted the Chief Justice of potential violations of Articles 117 and 118 of the 1992 Constitution.

The Speaker had informed the Chief Justice that there had been incidents where legal processes were served on Members of Parliament, the Speaker and the Clerk while they were engaged in official parliamentary functions, which could disrupt their work.

Article 117 of the Constitution states: attend, attend or return from any proceedings of Parliament.

Article 118 (1) of the Constitution also provides that “Neither the President, nor any Member, nor the Clerk of Parliament shall, while attending Parliament, be obliged to appear as a witness before any court or place outside the Parliament. »

Section 118 (2) also provides that: “The certificate of the Speaker that a Member or the Clerk attends the proceedings of Parliament shall be conclusive evidence of his or her presence in Parliament. »

The circular states that the provisions of Articles 117 and 118 of the 1992 Constitution ensure that the Speaker of Parliament, Members of Parliament (MPs) and the Clerk of Parliament cannot be subject to any legal proceedings or be compelled to appear as witnesses in court during their trial. Parliament is in session.

The only exceptions to this rule are if Parliament is not in session or if the Speaker certifies that the office holder in question was not en route to, attending or returning from a parliamentary proceeding.

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