During court proceedings on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, the plaintiffs, Dr. Amanda Odoi, a researcher at the University of Cape Coast (UCC); and Richard Dela Sky; and the Speaker of Parliament, through their lawyers informed the court that they had filed their statements, which was the reason for the delay in trial.
According to a report by GHOne TV, all the parties to the suit informed the court that they were relying on the statements of case, they filed.
The court, however, directed the lawyers of the plaintiffs to amend their statements to include their argument on a financial impact assessment report on the passage of the anti-gay bill being included by Parliament.
The seven-member Supreme Court panel, chaired by Justice Lovelace Johnson, gave the plaintiffs up to November 22, 2024, to amend their statements.
The other justices on the case include Justice Samuel Asiedu, Justice Ernest Gawu, Justice Barbara Ackah-Yensu, Justice Adjei Frimpong, and Justice Yaw Darko Asare.
The Parliament of Ghana, on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, passed the Promotion of Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, widely known as the Anti-LGBT+ Bill.
The bill, currently awaiting presidential assent, outlaws Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) activities and criminalises their promotion, advocacy, and funding.
Persons caught in these acts will be subjected to a six-month to three-year jail term, with promoters and sponsors facing a three to five-year jail term.
The bill now requires presidential assent to come into force within seven days. However, if President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo refuses to assent to the bill, Parliament, by a two-thirds majority vote, can pass it into law.
The Office of the President has instructed the Parliament of Ghana not to attempt to transmit the Anti-gay Bill until the two legal actions against its passage in the Supreme Court are resolved.
The Speaker of Parliament, at a recent media engagement, ordered the Clerk of Parliament to transmit the bill to the president for him to make a decision on, while accusing the executive and the judiciary of conniving to undermine the authority of Parliament.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
