Moses Foh-Amoaning, the Executive Secretary of the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, has dismissed the petition filed by Richard Dela Sky against the bill as “premature.”
His remarks come following a Supreme Court ruling on December 18, 2024, in which a seven-member panel, led by Justice Lovelace Avril Johnson, unanimously dismissed Sky’s petition challenging the constitutionality of the bill.
Sky had argued that Parliament did not meet the required quorum during the passage of the bill, which he claimed violated Articles 102 and 104 of the Constitution. He further contended that the bill infringed on various constitutional rights, including equality, freedom of expression, and protection from discrimination, under Articles 33(5), 12(1) and (2), 15(1), 17(1) and (2), 18(2), and 21(1)(a), (b), (d), and (e).
In his response, Foh-Amoaning welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling, emphasizing that it upheld the constitutional principles guiding the legislative process in Ghana. He clarified that the bill could only be contested once it is enacted into law, stressing that the Court’s decision was a valid interpretation of the law.
Foh-Amoaning further explained that the petition was premature because, according to the Constitution, the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction can only be invoked in matters related to actions done under an enactment. He pointed out that a bill, which is simply a proposal until it is signed into law, does not meet the constitutional threshold for judicial review.
“The proper time to challenge the constitutionality of this bill will be after it has been signed into law. At this stage, any action against it is premature,” Foh-Amoaning said in an interview on Joy FM on December 18, 2024.
This decision reinforces the procedural protections in Ghana’s legislative process and underscores the importance of following constitutional guidelines before invoking judicial review.
