Trial set to start Jan. 28 – Kwaku Azar

General news for Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Source: Starr FM

01/26/2021

U.S.-based Ghanaian lawyer Professor Kwaku Asare, aka Kwaku Azar, has predicted that the ongoing Supreme Court election petition trial is set to begin in February instead of Thursday, January 28, 2021.

“The trial is unlikely to begin on January 28, given the length of the review action and the court order today,” Kwaku Azar said in a Facebook post after sitting on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, he said the Supreme Court is likely to stick to its schedule, despite the fallout from the proceedings so far.

“With six days scheduled for the trial, it still seems very plausible that the proceedings will be completed in mid-February and that the judgment will arrive soon after. As today’s events have shown, any timeline, similar to the table below, should be seen as a guideline rather than something set in stone. “

Supreme Court justices are angry with the 2020 presidential petitioner and his lawyers after failing to comply with court orders.

The Supreme Court last Wednesday ordered the parties to file their processes within strict deadlines.

But, the petitioner who failed to file his witness statement and other process, instead filed a stay of proceedings before today’s meeting.

In court on Tuesday January 26, 2021 when the case was called, Judge Samuel Marful-Sau, Judge Yaw Appau, Judge Ashie Kotey, Judge Gertrude Torkornoo, all panel members took turns expressing their displeasure with the petitioner and his lawyers. not to file their witness statement as ordered by the court.

Judge Yaw Appau, for example, questioned why the court should hear a stay of proceedings from the applicant when he has not complied with his orders.

Previously, Mr Lithur had asked the court to stay the case for attorney Tsatsu Tsikata to arrive, but this did not go to court.

Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah responded by saying the case was settled at 9:30 a.m. and could not stand up.

The legal correspondent of the EIB, Murtala Inusah, reports that after going back and forth between Mr. Lithur and the bench, the court decided to stand up in their cabinet.

When the court resumed sitting, the Supreme Court gave the petitioners another opportunity to go through the process and file their witness statement before the end of the day tomorrow, January 27, and adjourned the sitting until Thursday, January 28. January 2021.

“The applicant is referred to the following procedural rules. Supreme Court Rule 69 (C4B) of Rule CI16 as amended by CI 99 which reads as follows: The court may dismiss the petition when the petitioner fails to file the processes regarding the petition within the specified time or hear and determine the petition when defendants fail to file their responses or the processes regarding their response within the allotted time. Indeed, this position in the rules of procedure of the Supreme Court relating to the petition for the presidential election is taken up through the different hierarchy of the courts in the current structure of case management and will not be compromised.

“Order 32 Rule 7 of Article 3 of Rule 3 of Rule 2004 CI 87 Amending the Civil Procedure of the High Court which governs trials in the High Court contains a similar provision which states that a conference management or pre-trial review or both, the judge may make the following by striking out the action, if the non-compliant party is a plaintiff or strike out the defense and against if the non-compliant party is a defendant or an order any party to pay a cost or place an appropriate order.

“The petitioner is again invited to file his witness statements on the issues raised in his petition and other pleadings and his response to the preliminary objection before the close of the day, Wednesday January 27, 2021, failing which this court will proceed to invoke the sanctions imposed on this court by the rules of the court. ”