TUFFUOR v. ATTORNEY-GENERAL

This constitutional case arose from Dr. Kwame Amoako Tuffuor’s challenge to the President’s nomination of Mr. Justice Fred Kwasi Apaloo as Chief Justice and member of the Supreme Court and Parliament’s vetting and rejection of that nomination in August 1980. Represented by Nana Akufo-Addo, Tuffuor argued that under article 127(8) and (9) of Ghana’s 1979 Constitution, Apaloo was deemed appointed Chief Justice upon the Constitution’s commencement, rendering further nomination and parliamentary approval ultra vires. The Attorney-General raised preliminary objections to jurisdiction, capacity, and the Speaker’s competency as a party and advanced a “transitional Chief Justice” theory and estoppel by election. The court, sitting as the Court of Appeal with Supreme Court original jurisdiction under article 118(1)(a), held it could interpret the Constitution, found every citizen has standing to seek interpretation or enforcement, discharged the Speaker, and declared Apaloo Chief Justice under the 1979 Constitution, rejecting estoppel and the “transitional” theory.