[2024]DLSC17730 • April 24, 2024 • Supreme Court •
FRANCIS OSEI-BONSU vs. ATTORNEY GENERAL
The plaintiff, a lawyer, challenged the constitutionality of sections 16(2)(a) and 16(2)(h-l) of the Citizenship Act, 2000 (Act 591), which added certain public offices, including Chief Justice and Justices of the Supreme Court, to the list of offices that Ghanaian dual citizens are prohibited from holding. The plaintiff contended that these additions amounted to an unconstitutional amendment of the Constitution without following the prescribed constitutional amendment procedures.
read moreJUDGMENT KULENDI JSC: 1. The Plaintiff, a legal practitioner and a citizen of Ghana, on the 10th of July, 2023 invoked our original jurisdiction pursuant to Article 2(1) of the Constitution praying for the following reliefs: i. A Declaration that Section 16(2)(a) of the Citizenship Act, 2000 (Act 591), is null and void on account of having been passed in a manner that is inconsistent with and in contravention of Article 289(2) of the 1992 Constitution. ii. A Declaration that Section 16(2)(h)-(l) of the Citizenship Act, 2000 (Act 591), are null and void on account of having been passed in a manner that is inconsistent with and in contravention of Article 289(2) of the 1992 Constitution. iii. An Order striking down Section 16(2)(a) and (h)-(l) of the Citizenship Act, as being unconstitutional. iv. Any further Orders and/or Directions as the Court may deem fit. 2. In a statement of case filed on the 12th of July, 2023, the Plaintiff argues that the original formulation in the ...