Former Supreme Court judge, Justice William Atuguba has waded into the debate surrounding the controversy in Parliament over the four vacant seats.

This follows Parliament’s controversy over Speaker Alban Bagbin’s declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant—a decision that was later stayed by the Supreme Court.

According to Mr Atuguba, until the court order is set aside, Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin must respect and implement the ruling.

In an interview with JoyNews, he said “Court orders take effect according to their terms. When a court order is made, it is be obeyed according to his terms unless it is set aside.”

He elaborated that, traditionally, common law allowed individuals to disregard actions deemed null and void without requiring further legal process

However, modern legal principles have evolved to prevent the automatic dismissal of such acts, stressing the need for formal processes to avoid undermining public policy.

“At first, it was a deep-seated principle of the common law that if an act is null and void, it is automatically null and void—you didn’t need a court process. But later, on grounds of public policy, notwithstanding the nullity of any court process, you can’t disregard it. The only way is to go and have it set aside,” he explained.

He also argued that the proper course of action to resolve the issue should have been through the High Court, not the Supreme Court.