A lawyer applauds Mahama Ayariga's decision to appear in court without summons

A private jurist congratulated Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga for his magnanimity which apparently ended a stalemate between the Accra High Court and Parliament.

Mahama Ayariga, he said, showed the utmost respect for the rule of law when he decided, on his own initiative, to appear before the High Court of Accra without having been convened.

According to him, whether the deputy of Central Bawku had acted scathingly or whether he had been despised for the proceedings or whether he had been absorbed into self-consciousness because of the limited immunity which enjoy the deputies, he would have demanded that he be purged before agreeing to appear in court.

Attorney Bobby Blankson, who was attending a panel discussion on the Special Prosecutor's case against Mahama Ayariga in TV3's political program, The Key Points on Saturday, expressed his disappointment that the MP had agreed to go to the court.

He said, "I am not happy that the member has agreed to appear. I would have liked him to tell me to serve me and then we'll see how they were going to serve him out of those days.

"He, out of respect for the law, decided to answer it. I would have liked that he did not do it then, we would have really seen the test of these constitutional interpretations. "

"At the time Ayariga was asked to appear in court, he had not yet been summoned and the criminal prosecution service is the most important element to prosecute.

Bobby Blankson observed that the order of Judge Mahama Ayariga to appear in court at one point, while it had not been purged, was inappropriate.

The judge, he argued, does not have the right to make an order that anyone who is subject to criminal prosecution may appear unless that person has been served.

"Because the jurisdiction of the court, whether civil or criminal, is based on natural justice and natural justice flows from service," he said.

"The prosecutor therefore can not go to court and tell my lord that we are trying to serve him and he says that he will not receive it because of his immunity, so order him to appear. This is very problematic.

"We should rather thank Ayariga for being employed to participate in the proceedings," he said.