Supreme Court nominee, Justice Philip Bright Mensah, has called for reforms to halt the growing trend of filing interlocutory applications in criminal cases, particularly where the prosecution has not yet closed its case.
Appearing before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, Justice Mensah argued that the practice has become increasingly disruptive to the delivery of justice and must be curtailed through legal reforms.
He said the current rules governing court proceedings, including the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (C.I. 47), need to be reviewed and updated.
Justice Mensah emphasized the need to introduce strict timelines for hearing interlocutory appeals to prevent unnecessary delays in trials.
Addressing criminal trials specifically, he raised concerns about the misuse of interlocutory appeals.
Justice Mensah recommended amending Ghana’s Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30) to prohibit interlocutory appeals during ongoing criminal trials until the prosecution has completed presenting its case.
He concluded by stressing that these legal reforms are crucial to ensuring swift and effective justice delivery.
He said, “I think the rules of court that we also work with needs looking at again. For example, the High Court Rules C.I 47. Indeed, we had the previous one which was promulgated in the 50s. It was only in 2004 that we changed it, and that has become our tool that we work with. Now, there are also inherent difficulties or problems with some rules of our engagement. For example, interlocutory appeals, I’m talking about interlocutory appeals, both in civil and in criminal. Interlocutory appeals, when a decision is made by a trial judge while the case is still pending, most often the party that is dissatisfied will want to go and appeal. In that case, and if it applies for stay of proceedings, it’s fortifying the hearing of the case.”
Justice Mensah continued, “So I want to suggest that, yes, they have the right to appeal, but there must be time limits within which the appeal must be heard so that it doesn’t affect the hearing of the case adversely. Now, coming to the criminal aspect of it. Now, it has become fashionable that if you are doing a case as a judge, when you cough, a party will want to go at out and sometimes they go even as far as the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the case will still be pending. So I strongly advocate that the right of parties filing interlocutory appeals in criminal cases where the prosecution has not even ended its case must be stopped. And we can only do that through the amendment of the law, that is the Act, talking specifically about Act 30.”
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Hamdia Mohammed
