GBA, Judges should negotiate to find amicable solution - Martin Kpebu on legal vacation

Martin Kpebu, a private legal practitioner, urged the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and the Association of Judges and Magistrates to engage in negotiations to resolve the growing disagreement over the observance of the legal vacation. His call followed an appeal by the GBA to Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie to ensure judges respect established rules governing the legal vacation. Mr. Kpebu stated, "I'm in the middle ground. Middle ground being that we should negotiate. We should try to find an amicable settlement."

Deputy Attorney General Dr. Justice Srem-Sai argued that a lawyer's foremost responsibility is to the client, stressing that litigants' interests must come before a lawyer's desire for a break. The disagreement deepened after the Chief Justice rejected a request by lawyers representing former National Signals Bureau (NSB) Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahen and former National Food and Buffer Stock Company Limited (NAFCO) Chief Executive Officer Hanan Abdul-Wahab to postpone their cases until after the legal vacation. The legal teams, including former Attorney General Godfred Dame and former Defence Minister Samuel Atta Akyea, had cited prior commitments during the vacation and requested adjournment until October. Mr. Kpebu explained that under the current arrangement, individual lawyers would have to approach judges handling their cases to seek accommodation.