[2023]DLSC15177 • May 31, 2023 • Supreme Court •
PROF. KWADWO APPIAGYEI-ATUA & 7 OTHERS PLAINTIFFS vs. THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the President assented to the Imposition of Restrictions Act, 2020 (Act 1012) on 21 March 2020, empowering the President to impose restrictions to ensure public safety, health, and protection during emergencies. The plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of Act 1012, arguing it unlawfully empowers the President to unilaterally suspend fundamental human rights without parliamentary or judicial oversight, circumventing constitutional procedures under Articles 31 and 32 for states of emergency.
read moreAMEGATCHER JSC:- INTRODUCTION In 1991, a Committee of Experts convened to discuss proposals for creating a draft constitution for Ghana. They released a detailed report which included their views on fundamental human rights and freedoms. Their opinion on the topic was as follows: “128. The National Commission for Democracy Report leaves no doubt that Ghanaians attach great importance to human rights. Human rights are universally regarded as inalienable and constitute the birthright of the individual as a human being. Therefore, no person may be deprived of his or her human rights.” Ghana's unwavering dedication to protecting fundamental human rights and freedoms can be attributed to several factors, including our history of human rights abuses and the courts’ jurisprudence during these periods. One of the most significant cases contributing to the regime of human rights protections subsisting under our current constitutional dispensation is In Re Akoto & 7 Others [1961] ...