UTAG KNUST President Backs Constitutional Review Proposals To Cap Supreme Court At 15, Calls For Referendum Entrenchment

The President of the KNUST Chapter of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Professor Eric KK Abavare, has thrown his weight behind key judiciary reform proposals contained in the Constitutional Review Committee's report, describing them as "architectural, not personal" interventions to restore public confidence in the judiciary.

Writing in his Week 5 column titled _"Capping the Bench, Freeing the Docket"_, Prof. Abavare recalled his experience during the 2012 election petition, noting how the judiciary then carried the entire republic on its shoulders.

"I sat through hours of the 2012 election petition within the time I had returned from study leave, and what I remember, more than the arguments themselves, is the atmosphere. A country holding its breath in front of a screen. Vendors with radios pressed to their ears. A judiciary that, for those weeks and months, carried the entire republic on its shoulders. Ghana came through that moment with our institutions intact," he wrote.

He contrasted that moment of national reverence with recent developments in 2024-2025, including the removal proceedings against a sitting Chief Justice, public squabbles over the growing size of the Supreme Court, and the perception of rulings timed for political convenience.

"In two decades, our third arm has moved from an object of national reverence to a topic of talk-show gossip. That is what this week's column is trying to reverse," he stated.

According to Prof. Abavare, four proposals in the Committee's response stand out:

1. A hard ceiling on the Supreme Court at the Chief Justice plus 14 Justices, to end court-packing debates.

2. A single, non-renewable 10-year term for the Chief Justice, to remove the roulette where tenure depends on age at appointment.

3. A streamlined appellate structure, with the Court of Appeal becoming the final court for most civil and criminal matters.

4. Formal integration of District and Circuit Courts into the Judiciary as 'Primary Courts', dignifying the courts where over 80 per cent of ordinary Ghanaians actually meet the justice system.

He argued that the reforms offer a direct benefit to ordinary Ghanaians, including kayayei and the most vulnerable, as fewer appellate stops mean cases will resolve faster and cheaper.

"There is a real Kayayoo dividend here. Fewer appellate stops mean cases resolve faster and cheaper. Fewer years. Fewer fees. Fewer bribes on the way up the ladder," he noted.