Anti Gay Bill: Supreme Court dismisses injunction against Parliaments.
Anti Gay Bill: The Supreme Court of Ghana, presided over by Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo, has rejected a request to halt Parliament’s consideration of the anti-gay bill.
The court stated that it was not convinced to issue such an order at this stage, as the issues raised would be dealt with in the substantive case.
Petitioner
The court’s decision came in response to a case filed by researcher Dr. Amanda Odoi, who alleged that Parliament’s work on the proposed law violated the constitution.
Dr. Odoi’s legal team also withdrew the case of contempt filed against the Speaker of Parliament.
Anti Gay Bill: Dr. Odoi is one of two citizens who have sued the Speaker of Parliament and the Attorney General over the Anti-LGBT bill.
She argued that despite serving the Speaker of Parliament with relevant court processes, including an application for an injunction on Parliament’s consideration of the law, he allowed the bill to proceed to its Second Reading.
During the court proceedings, the legal teams presented their arguments on whether the case should be put on hold.
Respondent
The Speaker of Parliament was not present, but his legal team, led by Thaddeus Sory, represented him.
Dr. Odoi’s lawyers were the first to address the court, emphasizing the importance of putting the consideration of the bill on hold.
The Chief State Attorney, Dr. Sylvia Aduse, argued that Dr. Odoi’s legal team had failed to demonstrate how they would suffer or which rights of theirs should be protected in the interim.
Thaddeus Sory, the lawyer for the Speaker, urged the court to dismiss the request.
After considering the merits of the case, the panel, led by the Chief Justice, concluded that a prima facie case had not been made to convince them to injunct the work of Parliament.
They stated that the issues raised by the application for an injunction should be determined in the substantive matter.
As a result, the application for an injunction was dismissed.
The panel members included Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, Gabriel Pwamang, Mariama Owusu, Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, Yonny Kulendi, Barbara Ackah-Yensu, Samuel Asiedu, and George Koomson.
Meanwhile, Dr. Odoi’s legal team has withdrawn the contempt case filed against the Speaker of Parliament.
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