A private citizen has sued the Attorney General and Chief Justice at the Supreme Court, challenging the constitutionality of the country’s legal vacation arrangements.

Elorm Kwami Gorni filed the suit on 28 July, asking the Apex Court to review the practice of suspending sittings of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court for about two months each year.

Gorni argues that the arrangement undermines citizens’ constitutional right to have their cases determined within a reasonable time and restricts access to justice.

The legal vacation runs from 1 August to 30 September, during which the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court do not ordinarily sit.

While the High Courts continue to operate on a limited basis through designated vacation courts to handle specified urgent matters, Gorni says litigants with pending cases before the two appellate courts are effectively required to wait until the end of the vacation.

He argues that the suspension can delay appeals, constitutional cases, applications for stay of execution, interlocutory applications and judicial review proceedings.

The plaintiff is asking the Supreme Court to declare Rule 61(b) of the Court of Appeal Rules, 1997 (C.I. 19), and Rule 82 of the Supreme Court Rules, 1996 (C.I. 16), unconstitutional to the extent that they allow the suspension of sittings during the legal vacation.

He says the rules and the administrative practice underpinning them are inconsistent with several provisions of the 1992 Constitution, including Articles 19(1), 23, 33, 125 and 296.

Gorni argues that the organisation of the judicial calendar and decisions on when courts sit constitute administrative functions and must therefore comply with the constitutional requirement for administrative bodies and officials to act fairly and reasonably.

He stressed that his challenge is not aimed at judges’ entitlement to annual leave or periods of rest.

Instead, he wants the court to determine whether judicial leave can be organised without completely suspending the constitutional functions of the country’s two highest appellate courts.

Among the remedies sought, Gorni is asking the Supreme Court to direct the Chief Justice to introduce alternative arrangements, including rotational sittings, vacation panels or staggered judicial leave, to ensure that the appellate courts can continue hearing cases throughout the year.

He argues that the current number of justices serving on the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal makes such arrangements feasible while preserving judges’ entitlement to annual leave.