GBA Challenges Trial Warrants During Legal Vacation

The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has formally petitioned the Chief Justice, His Lordship Justice Paul Baffoe Bonnie, over what it describes as an infringement on lawyers’ constitutionally observed right to rest during the legal vacation, after warrants were issued directing specific judges to continue part-heard criminal trials during the recess. In a statement dated Monday, 10th August, 2026, and signed by National President Mrs Efua Ghartey, the GBA said two separate petitions had been lodged by the law firms Zoe, Akyea & Co, Dame & Partners, and Sam Okudzeto & Associates, protesting notices served on them compelling attendance despite the ongoing vacation.

The complaints surfaced just as the Bar was settling into the current recess, having spent months marking the 150th anniversary of the Supreme Court Ordinance of 1876, whose celebrations ran from April 16 to July 31, 2026. Citing Order 79, Rule 4 of the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (CI 47), the Association reminded the Judiciary that the High Court observes three vacations annually, with the second and longest, from August 1 to September 30, designed to give lawyers, judges and judicial staff a deserved rest after the demanding second term. While acknowledging that Vacation Courts and Virtual Courts exist by convention to handle emergencies and interlocutory applications, the GBA stressed that neither is meant to conduct trials, and that the overriding factor in any vacation matter remains counsel’s willingness to appear.

“Counsel are not under any compulsion whatsoever to appear before a Vacation Court,” the statement states, adding that once counsel on either side signals unavailability, a judge cannot proceed with a listed matter “in any way,” even if the case had earlier been scheduled. The Association further argued that litigants in civil or criminal trials should not be coerced into self-representation, insisting the absence of a lawyer during vacation is not to be treated as wilful default. It said the only step a judge ought to take in such circumstances is to adjourn to dates proposed by counsel, warning that any deviation “with or without a warrant” would suggest bias or selective justice.

The GBA noted that lawyers had already gone out of their way to accommodate the court system this term, including adjusting to newly introduced Afternoon Court Sittings. It said many lawyers had submitted written arguments during the vacation, others were attending pre-scheduled conferences and matters in other jurisdictions, and some law firms had closed entirely for the recess period. “The Lawyers are personally responsible for their well being and they have to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Duly earned vacations must therefore not be tampered with,” the letter read.

The Bar Association said it has historically cooperated with the Judiciary to ensure smooth delivery of justice and expressed confidence that the Judiciary “would abide by the Rules of Court and the entrenched, sacred and treasured traditions relating to legal vacations.” The GBA said it trusts the petitions “will be considered favourably.” The statement has been copied to the Judicial Secretary at the Supreme Court, the Registrar of the High Court’s Specialised Division 1, and the three law firms — Zoe, Akyea & Co (Samuel Atta Akyea, Esq., Head of Chambers), Dame & Partners (Godfred Yeboah Dame, Esq., Head of Chambers), and Sam Okudzeto & Associates (Victoria Barth, Esq., Managing Partner) — whose petitions prompted the intervention.

By: Joyce Owusu