[2019]DLSC7731 • December 18, 2019 • Supreme Court •
MARTIN KPEBU (PLAINTIFF) vs. THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL (DEFENDANT)
The Plaintiff, a private citizen and legal practitioner, initiated constitutional action against the Attorney-General seeking declarations regarding the interpretation and enforcement of Article 143 of the 1992 Constitution concerning the 48-hour rule for bringing arrested persons before a court. The Plaintiff challenged the exclusion of weekends, public holidays, and periods of civil unrest from the 48-hour reckoning and sought declarations that courts must sit on such days to hear bail applications and other matters concerning personal liberty.
read moreAKUFFO, CJ:- Brief Background Facts On 6th September 2016, the Plaintiff, in his capacity as a private citizen and a legal practitioner, pursuant to Article 2 of the Constitution, commenced the action herein against the Defendant seeking the following reliefs: 1. A declaration that on a true and proper interpretation of article 14(3) of the Constitution, 1992, a Saturday, a Sunday, a public holiday, anytime during a civil unrest and any other day that the courts in Ghana cannot sit (e.g. during strike by judicial service staff or during a strike by any other stakeholder that will prevent the court from sitting) would be counted in reckoning the 48 hours within which a person arrested or detained on suspicion of committing a crime and not released must be brought before a court under article 14(3) of the Constitution of Ghana, 1992. 2. A declaration that on a true and proper interpretation of article 14(3) of the Constitution, 1992, section 4 of the Public Holidays Act, 2001 (Act 60...