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Fast Track Court quashes CHRAJ's ruling
on Anane
Accra, March 13, GNA - An Accra Fast Track High Court on
Tuesday granted a Review Application brought before it by Dr
Richard Anane, former Road Transport Minister, and therefore
quashed the decision of the Commission on Human Rights and
Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) of September 15, 2006 against
him.
The Court, presided over by Mr Justice Baffoe Bonnie, an
Appeal Court Judge with an additional responsibility on the
matter as a High Court Judge, stated that the Commission
ought to have based its investigations into allegations
against Dr Anane on a formal complaint.
The Court held that by conducting its own investigations
against the former Minister without a complaint emanating
from any complainant, CHRAJ was arrogating to itself
constitutional mandate outside its jurisdiction.
The Court stated that by so doing, CHRAJ was behaving like
the proverbial octopus, "stretching its tentacles to look
for complaints to investigate," which act would be a "recipe
for chaos".
It pointed out that even though it was an indisputable fact
that CHRAJ was clothed with the Constitutional mandate to
investigate allegations, there were constitutional
provisions that made the Commission an inferior
investigative body with limited jurisdiction, and therefore
had to work within the confines of the law.
The Court therefore said, by carrying out its own
investigation into the matter without being petitioned by
any identifiable complainant, CHRAJ was wrongfully
arrogating to itself powers it did not have.
It consequently ruled that the Commission's decision in
respect of its investigations against Dr Anane "was null and
void", and therefore quashed it.
Turning to the Commission's recommendation that the former
Minister apologized to Parliament for committing perjury by
lying to it when he appeared before the Select Committee on
Appointments, the Court was of the view that CHRAJ erred.
The Court stated that the Commission had no constitutional
mandate to investigate Dr Anane on perjury because it was
not set up to look into matters on perjury.
It, however, stated that if it wanted to go on with
investigation into allegation of perjury against him, CHRAJ
should have made the former Minister aware in order for him
to defend himself.
The Court was therefore of the view that CHRAJ's findings
and recommendations in respect of perjury against Dr Anane
"were afflicted by illegality and procedural impropriety".
Following media reports of allegations of corruption,
conflict of interest and abuse of power against Dr Anane,
CHRAJ instituted a full-scale investigation into those
allegations after conducting a preliminary one.
On September 15, 2006, the Commission found Dr Anane guilty
on some of the allegations and recommended to the President
that he be dismissed from office.
Before the President could act on CHRAJ's recommendations,
the former Minister resigned his position and declared his
intention to "contest" the ruling of the Commission.
A week after the Commission's ruling, Mr J. K. Agyemang,
counsel for Dr Anane, filed a Certiorari Application at the
Fast Track Court praying the court to review CHRAJ's
decision by quashing it.
Dr Philip Ebow Bondzie-Simpson, Counsel for the Commission,
filed his response which finally led to the court's ruling
on Tuesday in favour of Dr Anane.
After the ruling, the former Minister who was accompanied by
Mrs Mercy Anane, his wife, friends and relatives, came out
of the courtroom with tears of joy.
Ms Anna Bossman, Acting Commissioner of CHRAJ told newsmen
that the Commission respected the court's decision, because
it really showed the beauty of democracy and the rule of
law.
GNA
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