The Ghana Bar Association sets out the legal principles governing court recess: a mandatory two-month vacation follows a ten-month legal term under High Court rules; vacation courts are established by convention to handle emergencies like bail and injunctions, not full trials; and counsel participation during vacation requires voluntary availability.
11 August 2026 · Joy Online →
The Majority Chief Whip and Ghana Law Society President Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor criticised the Ghana Bar Association for responding to concerns from law firms over lawyer availability during Chief Justice proceedings, arguing that law firms are not GBA members and the association has no basis to respond to their petitions.
11 August 2026 · Joy Online →
An analysis argues that the Ghana debate on legal vacation conflates established practice with binding law, and contends that the Chief Justice's powers under High Court rules qualify vacation periods, supporting positions by the Deputy Attorney-General and Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare over the Ghana Bar Association's stance.
11 August 2026 · Joy Online →
The New Patriotic Party has accused Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie of exhibiting partisan disposition and facilitating selective justice by issuing special warrants for two High Court judges to conduct substantive criminal trials during the legal vacation. The party questioned why only these two courts were authorised to conduct full criminal trials when the affected cases involve persons associated with the NPP, arguing the decision amounted to unequal treatment.
11 August 2026 · Joy Online →
The Deputy Attorney-General says the Ghana Bar Association is attempting to turn a traditional accommodation granted to lawyers during legal vacation into a right to determine which cases should be heard by courts, arguing that decisions on whether substantive matters are heard during vacation remain within judges' discretion.
11 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Dr Justice Srem-Sai, Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, has expressed concern that lawyers boycotting vacation court proceedings may be failing their clients, particularly in criminal cases where accused persons have a constitutional right to legal representation. He worried that lawyers avoiding court for reasons related to the dispute over vacation sittings could leave clients vulnerable and deprive them of effective legal representation.
11 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Former Attorney-General Samuel Atta Akyea has defended his decision to remain absent from court during Ghana's ongoing legal vacation, saying he will not compromise established legal traditions for a single case and that upholding constitutional democratic principles is more important than convenience.
11 August 2026 · Joy Online →
The Ghana Bar Association has urged Chief Justice Paul Baffoe Bonnie to halt selected trials during the ongoing legal vacation (August 1–September 30), after receiving petitions from law firms regarding notices requiring lawyers to appear for part-heard criminal cases. The GBA states that legal vacation courts traditionally handle only emergencies and interlocutory matters, not trials, and that lawyers are not obliged to appear if unavailable.
11 August 2026 · The Ghanaian Times →
Legal practitioner Dr. Justice Srem-Sai has contested two assertions made by the Ghana Bar Association President in an August 10, 2024 letter to the Chief Justice regarding trials during legal vacation. Srem-Sai argues that Vacation Courts can handle substantive matters including trials, and that the Chief Justice—not lawyers—determines when courts operate.
11 August 2026 · The Ghanaian Times →
Former Attorney-General Joseph Kpemka has called the decision by specialised High Courts to continue substantive criminal trials during Ghana's legal vacation a "novel" departure from tradition, noting that vacation courts have traditionally focused on urgent applications and motions rather than full hearings.
11 August 2026 · Joy Online →
A High Court judge in Accra has given former NSB Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene and his wife six days to secure their lawyers' presence for their trial's continuation on August 17, warning that if they appear without counsel, they must personally cross-examine the prosecution witness or the witness will be discharged. The defendants appeared without their legal team on August 11, citing the legal vacation.
11 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Justice Minister Srem-Sai has dismissed allegations of selective justice in the Chief Justice's direction for selected courts to sit during the legal vacation (August 1–September 30), stating that multiple judges across the country have been designated as vacation judges. He added that lawyers with legitimate difficulties can seek adjournment by appearing before the court and explaining their circumstances.
11 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai has dismissed the Ghana Bar Association's position on legal vacation as having no basis in law, stating that the judiciary, not lawyers, has authority to determine when courts sit, and that vacation courts have always been constituted to conduct proceedings during legal vacations.
11 August 2026 · Joy Online →