Prominent legal practitioner, Mr. Kofi Bentil, has emphasized that individuals are obligated to abide by court rulings, even when they personally disagree. “This adherence is known as the rule of law,” he explained.

In a Facebook post, Mr. Bentil, Vice President of Imani Africa, stated: “Even if you disagree with a court, you are bound by their ruling!! That is called Rule of Law!! No one may depart from this!!”

Mr. Bentil’s remarks follow the recent Supreme Court decision denying Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin’s application to reverse an earlier ruling. The apex court’s decision had initially stayed the Speaker’s directive to declare four parliamentary seats vacant.

During the court session on Wednesday, October 30, the Chief Justice noted that the Speaker’s application lacked merit. “We have considered the application, and we have come to the conclusion that the grounds supporting the application have no merit,” the Chief Justice remarked. The Speaker’s legal representative, Thaddeus Sory, acknowledged the decision, responding, “As the court pleases.”

This matter began when Alexander Afenyo-Markin, leader of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) caucus, filed an ex parte motion contesting Speaker Bagbin’s declaration of vacant seats. Following this motion, the Supreme Court issued a stay of execution on Bagbin’s order.

In his application, Speaker Bagbin sought to have the court overturn the stay of execution on his declaration of the four seats. He also petitioned to have the writ filed by Afenyo-Markin, which aimed to prevent him from ruling on the seats, dismissed.

The Speaker’s legal stance contended that the Supreme Court’s authority to stay rulings should apply only within the judicial branch. The Speaker argued, “The Supreme Court’s powers under the 1992 Constitution and statute to stay execution of rulings are confined to its own rulings and those of lower courts within the judiciary but do not extend to directives from Parliament, which operates as a separate branch.”

He further asserted that parliamentary rulings do not fall within the judicial hierarchy, thus remaining outside the scope of judicial stay orders.