A private legal practitioner and Executive Director of the Centre for Legitimacy and Rule of Law (CLRL), Richard Amarh, has proposed a negotiation between the government and the dismissed Chief Justice, Gertrude Esaaba Torkonoo, regarding her end-of-service benefits.
He stated that it would be a painful experience for her to conclude her long years of service to both the bench and the bar without receiving any financial benefits.
His comments follow a unanimous decision by the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to dismiss an application filed by the former Chief Justice.
Her lawsuit had challenged her removal from office as both Chief Justice and as a Justice of Ghana’s Supreme Court.
The ECOWAS ruling, delivered on Wednesday, 24 June 2026, represents a significant setback for Justice Torkonoo, who had turned to the regional court to contest the process that led to her removal.
Speaking on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, Richard Nii Amarh explained that the former Chief Justice had taken legal action because she believed she had been unfairly removed from office.
According to him, pursuing litigation is a legitimate opportunity to test the law whenever someone feels an injustice has been orchestrated against them.
He posited that the former Chief Justice is deeply pained and feels that her long years of service have gone to waste.
He referenced the constitutional provision which requires the state to pay retired judges their full monthly salary until their death, noting that these specific benefits have been stripped away from the former Chief Justice.
“The woman is pained. Her removal has caused her great discomfort, and so her decision to challenge it in court was appropriate. If I were in her shoes, I would have done the same thing. Ghanaians don’t really understand the implications of her removal. Her removal has far-reaching implications than meets the eye. She had worked for years as a private lawyer, lectured at the law school, and risen through the ranks before being appointed a Supreme Court Judge and assuming the role of Chief Justice, so her removal is painful. Aside from that, she is not entitled to her pension benefits. As a judge, when you retire, you are paid the same salary you retired on. So losing these benefits is painful,” he stated.
When asked whether this development marked the end of the road for her financial entitlements, Amarh stressed that although the law is the law, room could still be made for negotiations to ensure her retirement benefits are paid.
“The law is indeed the law; however, I have come to the realisation that irrespective of existing directives or orders of a court, in Ghana, when a court issues a directive, we can go further in negotiating possible ways of enforcing these orders. So for me, to be fair to the woman, if she is interested in her end-of-service benefits and pension, nothing stops the government from negotiating with her and reaching an agreement so that she would be given her end-of-service benefits. That will not breach any provisions of our laws.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
