Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has called for negotiations between the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and the Association of Judges and Magistrates to resolve the disagreement over how court proceedings should be handled during the legal vacation.

The dispute follows concerns raised by the GBA over directives requiring lawyers to appear before Vacation Courts despite indicating that they would be unavailable during the period.

The Association has appealed to Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie to ensure that established practices governing the legal vacation are respected.

The controversy has deepened following the Chief Justice’s decision not to grant requests by lawyers representing former National Signals Bureau (NSB) Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahen and former National Food and Buffer Stock Company Limited (NAFCO) Chief Executive Officer Hanan Abdul-Wahab to defer their cases until October.

The lawyers, including Samuel Atta Akyea and former Attorney-General Godfred Dame, had cited prior commitments during the vacation and asked that the cases be adjourned until after the period.

Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai has, however, argued that lawyers’ primary duty is to their clients and that the interests of litigants should take precedence over a lawyer’s desire to take a break.

Speaking on Citi FM on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, Mr Kpebu said the parties should avoid escalating the disagreement publicly and instead pursue a negotiated settlement.

“I’m in the middle ground. Middle ground being that we should negotiate. We should try to find an amicable settlement,” he said.

Mr Kpebu said the current approach effectively requires individual lawyers to approach judges handling their cases to seek accommodation, a situation he believes could lead to inconsistent outcomes.

“The Chief Justice’s explanation means that each lawyer should go and fight his own fight, but I know we have different fighting skills, different strengths,” he said.

He therefore proposed that the GBA engage directly with the Association of Judges and Magistrates to agree on a uniform arrangement for lawyers whose cases have been listed before Vacation Courts.

According to him, such an approach could help settle the disagreement without further public confrontation and provide greater clarity for both lawyers and judges during the legal vacation.