Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has stated that the President does not necessarily need a response from the Chief Justice before a prima facie determination regarding a petition for removal.
According to Mr Kpebu, there is no breach of the law in President John Mahama's handling of the process, as some are suggesting.
In an interview on JoyNews' The Pulse on Thursday, he explained that the procedure under Article 146(3) of the 1992 Constitution involves two distinct stages: first, the President, in consultation with the Council of State, must determine if there is a basis for setting up a tribunal or a committee.
Contrary to arguments made by others, he noted that the formation of a five-member tribunal is not automatic but depends on this initial determination. "In order to make that prima facie determination, you don't always need the response of the Chief Justice or any other justice of the superior courts," he stated.
