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The Ghanaian Judicial Service has denied claims that Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo and the Supreme Court are purposefully postponing the lawsuits against Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin over the enactment of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act, also referred to as the anti-gay bill.
The Judicial Service stated that the parties to the lawsuit are the ones causing the hearing to be delayed in response to a request for the Supreme Court to accelerate the hearing of the cases against the passage of the anti-gay bill.
According to onuaonline.com, it stated that the parties to the lawsuits needed to submit their statements before to the court’s session, which hasn’t been done.
“For the Supreme Court to hear any case, the parties are required to file their respective pleadings in the form of a statement of case within the timelines provided for by the Supreme Court Rules, 1996 (CJ 16).
“As the two communications issued earlier stated, Parliament and the parties have not complied with the requirements that allow a trial of the case raised by the Plaintiffs,” the statement from the Judicial Service is quoted to have indicated.
The service went on to admonish all parties to file their pleadings for the hearing of the cases by the Supreme Court to commence.
“Attach the urgency to this case as shown in the petition and file the necessary processes for the cases to be heard,” it added.
The Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, also known as the Promotion of Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, was approved by the Ghanaian Parliament on Wednesday, February 28, 2024.
The bill, which is pending presidential assent, criminalizes the promotion, advocacy, and funding of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) activities.
Promoters and sponsors risk a three- to five-year jail sentence, while those found guilty of these crimes face a six-month to three-year jail sentence.
Now, the president must sign the bill into law within seven days. However, Parliament can enact the bill by a two-thirds majority vote if President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo declines to sign it into law.
The Ghanaian Parliament has been told by the Office of the President not to try to pass the anti-gay bill until two Supreme Court cases against it have been settled.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
