Striking out of law on cannabis cultivation: AG's review application dismissed

The Supreme Court has by a 5-4 majority decision, dismissed a review application filed by the Attorney General against the striking out of Section 43(1) of the Narcotics Control Commission Act (Act 1019). 

In July last year, the ordinary bench of the Court struck out that portion of the Act as being made by Parliament in excess of its jurisdiction.

This was in a case by Ezuame Mannan, challenging the manner in which the said Section was passed by Parliament. 

Being dissatisfied, the Attorney General, who was the first defendant, filed a review seeking the apex court to overturn its earlier decision.

When the case was called today, May 23, the nine-member review panel presided over by Dotse(JSC) gave both counsels the final minutes to convince the court of their stance.

The Attorney General, Godfred Dame argued that the action by the ordinary panel had caused a grave miscarriage of justice.

He added also that in passing the said Act, parliament abided and did not go contrary to Article 106 of the Constitution.

To him, therefore once parliament had not gone contrary to a Constitutional provision, the Court had no business interfering in its autonomy.

Counsel for the respondent was deeply opposed to this argument, noting that everything about Section 43(1) was done contrary to the Constitution.

She noted that once Parliament is not above the Constitution,  its action of sneaking the said Section into the law was unconstitutional, and therefore the ordinary panel of the Supreme Court was right in striking out the same.

In its judgment, the review panel noted that the AG's application had failed to meet the threshold for the grant of the same.

As such, in a Majority of 5-4, with Lovelace-Johnson (JSC), Tanko Amadu (JSC), Adibu Asiedu (JSC), and Koomson (JSC) dissenting, the court dismissed the AG's application.