Supreme Court nominee, Justice Dennis Dominic Adjei, has strongly advocated for the scrapping of the long-standing practice where judges of superior courts sit as “additional judges” in lower courts, describing it as unnecessary, vulnerable to undue influence, and inconsistent with best international judicial practices.

Appearing before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Monday, 16th June 2025, Justice Adjei questioned the rationale behind assigning superior court judges to handle cases in lower courts when there are sufficient personnel at every judicial level.

“As a judge, judges sitting in court as additional judges – that one should be abolished,” he stated. “Because it is not done in any country. We have enough High Court judges. Why is it that if there is a case to be tried by a High Court judge, we ask a Court of Appeal judge to go and sit?”

He further criticised the practice as one that opens the door to possible human influence, potentially undermining judicial independence and the integrity of the court hierarchy.

“We are talking about human influence, and we must reduce it, we must curb it,” he added.

Justice Adjei, who also serves as a judge at the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, revealed that his review of constitutional systems across the continent found no precedent for such a system.

“I have examined almost all the constitutions in Africa, and I haven’t seen in any country where they ask judges to go and sit in another court as an additional judge,” he said.