Legal vacation does not prevent courts from hearing substantive cases or conducting trials, and the decision on whether proceedings should continue rests with the bench rather than lawyers, Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Dr Justice Srem-Sai has argued.

His comments come amid a disagreement over the scope of court proceedings during Ghana’s legal vacation, which runs from August 1 to September 30.

The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has appealed to Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie to ensure that judges adhere to what it describes as the established rules and traditions governing the period.

In a letter to the Chief Justice on Monday, August 10, the GBA said vacation courts were traditionally established to deal with urgent and interlocutory matters and did not conduct trials during the period.

The association also objected to directives compelling lawyers to appear in court despite having indicated their unavailability for the vacation.

The GBA said that where counsel informs the court that they are unavailable, the appropriate course should be to adjourn the matter.

“Counsels are not under any compulsion whatsoever to appear before a vacation court," the association said, arguing that a case “cannot proceed with the case in any way” where counsel on either side indicates an inability to proceed during the vacation.

Dr Srem-Sai, however, in a write-up issued on Tuesday, August 11, has challenged that position, saying the claim that vacation courts “never” conduct trials is not supported by law, practice or the structure of Ghana’s court system.

He explained that legal vacation significantly reduces the workload of the superior courts but does not shut them down.

According to him, judges authorised by the Chief Justice to sit during the vacation can hear both interlocutory and substantive proceedings in cases originating from their own courts.

A vacation judge may, however, deal only with interlocutory matters when handling cases belonging to another judge who is on vacation.

“Contrary to the GBA President’s claim, vacation Judges take proceedings on the substance of the case and do conduct trials during the legal vacation,” Dr Srem-Sai said.

He maintained that the arrangement ensures cases do not suffer unnecessary delays because a judge has served as a vacation judge, arguing that Ghanaian courts have historically conducted trials during legal vacations.