A former Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Joseph Kpemka, has described as “novel” the decision by specialised High Courts to continue substantive criminal trials during Ghana’s ongoing legal vacation.

His comments follow the Accra High Court’s rejection of an application by lawyers for four accused persons, including former National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Chief Executive Officer Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, seeking to adjourn proceedings until October.

The development has sparked debate within the legal profession because the traditional practice during the legal vacation has been for designated Vacation Courts to focus mainly on urgent applications, motions and interlocutory matters.

According to Mr Kpemka, substantive hearings have generally not formed part of the work of courts sitting during the vacation.

“During the holidays, judges do not normally deal with the substantive hearings. It is only motions. The holiday judges sit to hear motions and urgent applications,” he said, stressing that the decision to continue full criminal trials represented a departure from the usual practice. “It is novel. We’ve not done that,” he added.

The Abdul-Hamid case is among several high-profile criminal matters designated to continue during the legal vacation.

The decision comes amid a wider debate over the scope and purpose of the legal vacation, following a recent appeal by the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) to Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie for judges to respect established practices governing the period.