The Attorney-General has been granted an additional seven days to file his statement of case concerning lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the Anti-LGBTQ bill.

During Thursday’s court session, the Attorney-General’s Office requested the extension, citing a delay in receiving a fiscal impact analysis that was expected to support their arguments.

JoyNews’ Kweku Asante, who was present in court reported that senior state attorneys representing the Attorney General explained that they had anticipated the Speaker of Parliament and his legal team would file this fiscal impact analysis, as previously indicated during an earlier hearing.

However, the absence of this document, they argued, had caused the delay in finalising their submission.

Justice Yaw Darko Asare, presiding over the case, granted the request, allowing the Attorney-General an additional seven days to complete and file the necessary documents.

The case of Dr. Amanda Odoi v. the Speaker of Parliament and the Attorney-General was filed on 11th June 2023, on the grounds that Parliament had contravened Article 108 of the 1992 Constitution during the passage of the Bill. Parliament filed its defence in the form of a Statement of Case in March 2024.

Parliament was supposed to file its defence within 14 days of notice of the action; however, it submitted its defense on 14th March 2024.

The Attorney-General has yet to file a defense in the form of a statement of case. Additionally, none of the three parties has filed the issues to be decided by the court, as directed by the Supreme Court Rules, 1996, C.I. 16.

In Richard Sky’s case, which also challenges the passage of the Bill on the grounds that Parliament violated Article 108, neither Parliament nor the Attorney-General has filed a defense yet. Both parties have failed to meet the requirements to submit their Statement of Case and Memorandum of Issues, causing further delays.

Meanwhile, proponents of the Anti-LGBTQ bill took to the streets on Tuesday, October 8, rallying to urge the Judiciary to expedite the hearing of cases challenging the bill's constitutionality.