Supreme Court to rule on anti-LGBTQI+ bill July 17
The Supreme Court has set July 17, 2024, for the ruling on the motion for the interlocutory injunction application filed by Richard Sky seeking to prevent the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin from transferring the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values bill to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his assent.
This decision followed arguments from all parties involved in the case.
The court will also rule on a separate application filed by Amanda Odoi on the same date.
Counsel for the applicant, Dr. Ernest Ackon, argued that the bill, if approved, imposes a direct charge on public funds, violating Article 108. He also pointed out the lack of a fiscal impact analysis before the bill was sent to the President.
The Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, the second respondent, argued that the Speaker’s discretion is not unconstrained by the constitution, hence warranting the apex court’s decision on the injunction application
Plaintiff Dr. Amanda Odoi seeks an injunction to stop the Speaker from transmitting the bill to the President.
The first Defendant on the case led by Counsel for the Speaker of Parliament Thaddeus Sory on his part, argued that the claims of the applicant regarding the need for a fiscal impact analysis were not supported by the constitution especially when the bill did not expressly say it will impose a charge on the consolidated fund.
According to him, the substance of the interlocutory injunction was not significantly different from a previous one filed by the plaintiffs and dismissed by the courts
He further argued that the transmission of the bill from the Speaker of Parliament to the President for him to assent is still an ongoing process that hasn’t been completed and, hence wasn’t within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to deliberate on the matter.
He called on the court to dismiss the application before the bench.
The Supreme Court, chaired by Her Ladyship Gertrude Torkonoo, is currently hearing the Richard Dela Sky case.
