Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga East and former Deputy Attorney General Dr. Dominic Ayine insists he did not make any disparaging comments that will warrant his invitation to the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council.
The Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anim-Yeboah caused a letter to be written by the Judicial Secretary to the General Legal Council, after taking issues with some views expressed by Dr. Ayine on the 2020 Election Petition Judgment at a CDD-Ghana organized programme.
The letter addressed to the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council, accused Dr. Ayine of stating that “the Supreme Court’s failure to apply the rules of procedures as well as the consistent and continuous dismissal of the petitioners’ applications or reliefs were the basis of his assertion”.
However, in his defence, Dr, Ayine has outlined 3 reasons contained in an eleven page letter, explaining why he thinks the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council should not proceed to hold an inquiry as directed by the Chief Justice.
Giving his first reason, Dr. Ayine insisted that his contribution at the CDD-Ghana roundtable discussion was not in any way intended to disparage the judiciary, hence did not disparage the judiciary as being suggested by the Chief Justice.
Secondly, he holds the view that criticism of judicial decision after the facts does not constitute professional misconduct. He said in participating in the roundtable discussion, it cannot be argued that he was engaged in the practice of law in the strict sence since he was not in the business of providing legal services on the platform offered him by CDD-Ghana.
“My statements were expressions of opinion about a judgement delivered by the court. I strongly feel that as a legal academic and former Deputy Attorney General of this country, I owe a duty to the people of this country to comment on legal matters for a number of reasons”
Third and finally, Dr. Ayine explained that his observations about the conduct of the 2020 election petition proceedings constitute protected speech within the ambit of Article 21 of the 1992 constitution.
“The opinion I expressed during the roundtable discussion is protected speech in terms of Article 21 (1) (a) of the constitution which guarantees the right of every person to freedom of speech and expression”
“I take the view that my right to freedom of speech and expression is exactly the same as the right to freedom of speech and expression of every other citizen of Ghana. Criticism of public officials and their performance in public office is at the core of the right to free speech in a democratic society and free speech directed at the judiciary is no exception“, he wrote.
Contained in his conclusion, Dr. Dominic Ayine wrote “Our progressive march as a constitutional democracy would suffer a grave and decidedly irreversible setback if the committee were to proceed to hold an inquiry into this matter. Our Constitution and laws protect the integrity and independence of the judiciary and not the sensibilities of judges”
