High court denies request to refer criminal practice rule to Supreme Court

An application by former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Gifty Oware-Mensah, to refer a key criminal practice direction to the Supreme Court for interpretation has been dismissed by an Accra High Court.

The application challenged portions of the Practice Direction on Disclosure and Case Management in Criminal Proceedings 2018, specifically a rule requiring an accused person to disclose the names and addresses of defence witnesses during the case management conference.

Oware-Mensah, who is facing charges of causing financial loss of over GH¢38 million to the state, argued through her lawyer, Gary Nimako Marfo, that the order violated her constitutional right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, as enshrined in Article 19(2)(c) of the 1992 Constitution.

The specific clause under contention, Section 2(3)(a) of the Practice Direction, states: “Without prejudice to the constitutional presumption of the innocence of the Accused person, the Accused person shall, for purposes of case management, disclose the names and addresses of all witnesses he expects to call, should the Court call upon him to enter into his defence.”

The court, however, ruled that the applicant failed to demonstrate a sufficient need for a constitutional interpretation to warrant a referral to the Supreme Court. The trial judge also found no grounds to justify a stay of proceedings.

Practice directions are procedural guidelines issued by the Judiciary to govern court processes and are not considered substantive laws. The 2018 directive was introduced by former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo to promote expeditious trials and efficient case management.

The case has been adjourned to February 18, 2026, for the court to consider a separate application for a stay of proceedings.