Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, the former Speaker of Parliament and a Distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Economic Affairs, has publicly opposed the continued establishment of tribunals to handle criminal matters. Speaking at the IEA’s “Views and Reflections: The Prempeh Committee’s Report and Government’s Position on Constitutional Review,” he warned that creating separate forums for prosecution could erode the principle of equality before the law.
Oquaye stressed that citizens should ordinarily be prosecuted before the established courts of the land, a stance he said is fundamental to a fair justice system. He cautioned that special avenues for prosecution would allow some individuals to be tried in tribunals while others would remain subject to ordinary courts, thereby creating an unequal legal landscape.
“I am particularly against having tribunals, because it is also part and parcel of this improper proliferation of prosecutorial powers in our republic,” Oquaye said. He cited English jurisprudence, noting that the Englishman insists that anyone accused or prosecuted should be taken to the ordinary courts of the land. “Don’t set up something that I may be prosecuted before, but that Adwoa will not be prosecuted before,” he added, underscoring the need for equal treatment under the law.
Oquaye concluded that extraordinary courts are not part of the judicial system that has been well‑crafted in countries like England and that continuing to proliferate such tribunals would be detrimental to the justice system.
