The Justice of the Adentan High Court 1, Her Ladyship Enyonam Adinyira has called for the scrapping of legal vacation provided in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court rules.
Her Ladyship Enyonam Adinyira who sits in a court inundated with cases and is a pilot court for the Court shift system introduced by the learned Chief Justice offered the increase in backlog of cases as the reason for recommending the scrapping of legal vacation for the Superior Courts.
She offered the recommendation during Court Proceedings in her courtroom, Adentan High Court 1 on the 19th day of July, 2024. Her suggestion came after she was compelled to successively give return dates for cases for trial and other businesses as far as mid next year, 2025. According to the learned judge, legal vacation is the reason for the increase in the backlog of cases. A situation her court helplessly faces.
In expanding on the need to do away with legal vacation as provided in Order 79 rule 4 of C.I. 47, rule 61 of C.I 19 and rule 82 of C.I 16, she said legal vacation is some good 60 days without work. Indicative of her recognition for rest by lawyers and staff of law firms and legal departments, she intimated that lawyers need rest but they can acquire such rest by taking leave like judges do, suggesting a blanket halt to Courtroom business for more than two months within the year was unhelpful and increases the burdens of the Court.
Rules on vacations
Order 79 rule 4 of C.I. 47, High Court Civil Procedure Rules which stipulates the timelines for legal vacation and has repetition by way of wording in rule 61 of C.I 19, Court of Appeal Rules and rule 82 of C.I 16, Supreme Court Rules reads as follows:
Rule 4—Vacations
Subject to rule 1 (1) the following periods shall be observed in the High Court as vacations
(a) the period commencing on the Tuesday immediately following Easter Monday in each year and ending on the Friday immediately following;
(b) the period commencing on 1st August in each year and ending on 30th September in the year; and
(c) the period commencing on 23rd December in each year and ending on 6th January in the next year.
The Chief Justice however has powers under the rules to designate a court to sit despite the provisions requiring the observation of vacations.
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