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A former Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Justice Emile Short, has expressed worry over the delay by the Supreme Court in hearing and determining the petition challenging the constitutionality of the constitutional review process.

He has, therefore, urged the Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, to facilitate the hearing and determination of the case.

The petition, which has been pending before the Supreme Court for a year now, is asking the court to determine the power and authority of the Constitutional Review Implementation Committee (CRIC) to continue the Constitution review process before the 2016 elections.
Justice Short said the determination of the case was crucial because some of the recommendations of the CRIC would have some bearing on the elections.

Besides, he said, the expected referendum on the entrenched provisions, including the abolition of the death penalty, could not go ahead if the Supreme Court did not decide on the matter.

"I urge the Chief Justice to take steps to ensure that this matter is decided as quickly as possible, so that we know the way forward. It should be decided before the elections," he stressed.

Justice Short expressed the worry at a workshop organised by Amnesty International, Ghana and sponsored by the French Embassy to discuss the way forward on the campaign for the abolition of the death penalty, vis-a-vis the constitutional review process.

He noted that Ghana was among the countries that still had the death penalty on the statutes book for murder, genocide and treason.
He said although there had not been any execution since 1993, the conditions under which those sentenced to death lived in the prisons were deplorable.

"Those sentenced to death are at separate places where conditions are horrific. They can hardly breathe. They are enduring a lot of hardship and trauma. The uncertainty of not knowing when you will be executed is itself cruel," he said.

Justice Short, therefore, called for urgent steps towards the abolition of the death penalty in the country.

Amnesty International
The Constitution Review Commission recommended that the death penalty should be changed to life imprisonment, which had been accepted, according to the Government’s White Paper.

The Director of Amnesty International, Ghana, Mr Lawrence Amesu, said the major challenge hindering progress towards the abolition of the death penalty in the country "is that the constitutional review process has come to a standstill" because of the pendency of the petition against the process.

French Ambassador
The Ambassador of France to Ghana, Mr Frederick Clavier, said the death penalty was a violation of a fundamental human right and should be abolished across the globe.

He said the commitment of France to the universal abolition of the death penalty was part of its international diplomacy efforts.