Lawyer and public-spirited activist for reforms in Ghana’s legal education system, professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar has hit back at President Nana Akufo Addo saying there is no law that backs the burning of excavators.
His reaction comes after President Nana Akufo-Addo on Wednesday 26th May, 20201 asked sized excavator owners and the section of Ghanaians who are against it to go to court.
Professor Azar explained that the mantra of “go to court” is dangerous and allows the executive to do illegal things unless they are stoped by the court. “The “go to court” mantra is an extremely dangerous doctrine because it essentially allows the executive to do everything which is not forbidden by law unless the court stops it,” he said.
He maintained that “the mantra, therefore, creates an unlimited executive with ex-ante judicial power that is subject to victim-initiated ex-post judicial review. To the extent that victims cannot afford the transaction cost of going to court, it effectively leads to an elective dictatorship. Rather, our Constitution provides for a limited government, which empowers the government to take only those actions that are specifically allowed by law. Thus, the executive’s mantra should be “pursuant to this law.”
He noted that “pursuant to this law” does not mean that the executive cannot burn excavators. Rather, it simply means that the executive, if it seeks to burn excavators, should pass a law that gives it the power to burn excavators that are in the proximity of galamsey sites”. With such a law, the executive then can gleefully burn excavators and when questioned simply point to the law. Of course, victims here too have to bear the transaction cost of going to court but there is a law that is in effect and presumed to be passed by the people.
In a Facebook post Prof Azar further added that the executive is shifting the burden of proving that their actions are wrong to the citizenry. “There is something eerie about the executive taking actions, not supported by law, and shifting the burden of proving the illegality of the action by inviting the victims to seek redress at our “fast track independent” courts”.
“GOGO will not burn excavators and ask galamsayers to go court. GOGO will prosecute galamsayers in court, confiscate their assets and put their excavators to proper use” he retaterated.
Read his full post below;
The “go to court” mantra is an extremely dangerous doctrine because it essentially allows the executive to do everything which is not forbidden by law unless the court stops it.
The mantra therefore creates an unlimited executive with ex ante judicial power that is subject to victim-initiated ex post judicial review. To the extent that victims cannot afford the transaction cost of going to court, it effectively leads to an elective dictatorship.
Rather, our Constitution provides for a limited government, which empowers the government to take only those actions that are specifically allowed by law. Thus, the executive’s mantra should be “pursuant to this law.”
Note that “pursuant to this law” does not mean that the executive cannot burn excavators. Rather, it simply means that the executive, if it seeks to burn excavators, should pass a law that gives it the power to burn excavators that are in the proximity of galamsey sites.
With such a law, the executive then can gleefully burn excavators and when questioned simply point to the law. Of course, victims here too have to bear the transaction cost of going to court but there is a law that is in effect and presumed to be passed by the people.
There is something eerie about the executive taking actions, not supported by law, and shifting the burden of proving the illegality of the action by inviting the victims to seek redress at our “fast track independent” courts.
GOGO will not burn excavators and ask galamsayers to go court. GOGO will prosecute galamsayers in court, confiscate their assets and put their excavators to proper use.
#SALL is the cardinal sin of the 8th Parliament. There too, the election manager has acted outside the law and has invited the victims to go to court.
Da Yie!
Filed By: Agaatorne Douglas Asaah/Awakenewsroom.com