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Minority walks out of Parliament over Tribunals Bill 2026, citing lack of dialogue and due process concerns
via GhanaWeb3 min read
The Minority in Parliament staged a walkout during the consideration of the Tribunals Bill, 2026, on July 16, 2026. The Minority Leader, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, stated that the Caucus left because the Majority refused to engage in meaningful dialogue and intended to use its numerical advantage to pass the bill despite objections from organised labor, legal stakeholders, and recommendations from the Constitutional Review Committee. Afenyo-Markin argued that the proposed tribunal system could undermine due process and fair trial guarantees, drawing parallels to Ghana's experience under the Provisional National Defence Council PNDC era, where he claimed tribunals targeted individuals and enriched members. He also questioned the Majority's quorum, alleging that they lacked the necessary numbers even after a suspension to marshal members. Despite the Minority's walkout, Parliament proceeded with the bill, which aims to establish a new legal framework for tribunals under Article 126 of the 1992 Constitution. The government maintains the legislation will modernize the tribunal system and improve access to justice, though some legal and governance advocates urge caution to protect fair hearing and judicial independence.
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by GhanaWeb.
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Must ReadGhana's Parliament passed the Public Tribunals Bill, 2026 on July 16, 2026, establishing a legal framework for public tribunals. The legislation faced a walkout by the Minority in Parliament and strong opposition from the Trades Union Congress TUC. The Bill aims to regulate the establishment, jurisdiction, composition, and functioning of public tribunals in line with the 1992 Constitution. It also creates a Tribunal Oversight Committee to supervise tribunal administration and performance. According to Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, Ghana's Attorney General, the tribunals are intended to strengthen the justice delivery system, reduce case backlogs, and provide faster adjudication for high-priority cases such as economic crimes, illegal mining, tax offenses, and corruption. The Bill proposes a two-tier system: Regional Tribunals with concurrent jurisdiction with the High Court over selected criminal matters, and District Tribunals sharing jurisdiction with Circuit Courts for specified criminal matters, excluding treason, capital offenses, and cases triable on indictment. Tribunal members, including legally qualified chairpersons and citizen panel members, will be appointed under defined procedures, and their decisions will be subject to appellate review.
Retired Supreme Court Justice William Atuguba has questioned the necessity of Ghana's 276 parliamentary seats, asking what benefits this large number of lawmakers brings to the country. Speaking at the Justice DF Annan Memorial Lecture on Thursday, July 16, 2026, Justice Atuguba stated that Ghana's legislature has expanded beyond what is needed for a country of its size. He highlighted that the number of seats has increased from around 100 to 276, and queried the purpose and true benefit to the people. Justice Atuguba also acknowledged the concerns of former Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who previously cautioned against creating more parliamentary seats due to resource strain without clear governance advantages. Justice Atuguba's remarks contribute to ongoing discussions regarding the size of Ghana's legislature and the potential need for reforms to ensure efficiency and accountability in parliamentary representation.