We should have 20 Supreme Court judges – Justice Mensah

Supreme Court judge nominee Justice Philip Bright Mensah has called for a significant increase in the number of judges at the Supreme Court, suggesting that the bench should ideally comprise 20 justices to effectively manage the growing caseload.

The Supreme Court concluded only 344 out of the 939 pending cases in the 2022/2023 legal year, leading to a backlog of 595 cases carried over into the 2023/2024 legal year.

This was an increase of 181 cases from the 2021/2022 legal year, which saw 799 cases pending, out of which 385 cases were concluded by the court, leading to a backlog of 414 cases.

The above data were contained in a letter dated February 7, 2024, from suspended Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, to the then President Nana Akufo-Addo, requesting that the number of Justices of the Supreme Court be increased from the current 15 to 20, the same number proposed by Justice Mensah, to enable the court to handle the numerous cases pending before it for effective justice delivery.

Justice Mensah, one of the seven judges nominated by President John Mahama for the Supreme Court, made this recommendation during his vetting before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Tuesday, June 17, 2025.

Justice Mensah emphasised the increasing volume of cases reaching the apex court, driven by citizens’ constitutional right to pursue justice through the various levels of the judiciary.

“When the case comes to the High Court and the person who loses is [not] satisfied, you go to the [Court of] Appeal. If he loses again, and he wants to go out, he can go to the Supreme Court, subject to the leave of the Supreme Court,” he explained.

He argued that this inherent right to appeal, coupled with the increasing complexity and number of legal disputes, necessitates a larger judicial complement. “You will see that there are more and more cases, and as the cases further and they are expensive, it’s only very reasonable that judges must be recruited to deal with those cases,” Justice Mensah stated.

When asked for his specific recommendation, he was unequivocal: “If you ask me, the minimum number that I will recommend for appointment to the Supreme Court, given the nature of the way they do so many cases, therefore, I think I will suggest 20 as judges that should be at the Supreme Court.”

Justice Mensah further justified his position by detailing the operational requirements of the Supreme Court.

He noted that as a matter of procedural rule, and even enshrined in the Constitution, a panel for an ordinary Supreme Court case typically comprises five judges.

In cases of significant importance, two additional justices are often added, forming a seven-member panel.

“Even in ordinary cases, you see that judges mustn’t be sent into the Supreme Court. You are giving the court more and more and more cases,” he highlighted, suggesting that the current number of judges is insufficient for the volume and complexity of work.

Justice Mensah’s comments reinforce a growing sentiment among legal practitioners and some judicial nominees about the need to bolster the human resource capacity of the Supreme Court to enhance efficiency and ensure timely justice delivery.

Justice Philip Bright Mensah is a Justice of the Court of Appeal, appointed by former President Nana Akufo-Addo in 2019 from the High Court.

He was the Presiding Judge who acquitted and discharged Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson and businessman Richard Jakpa after the state withdrew all charges against them in the ambulance saga.

He was also the Presiding Court of Appeal Judge who compelled a new High Court judge in the State v. Dr Opuni and businessman Seidu Agongo case to continue from where the previous High Court judge left off.

The new High Court judge who took over the case in 2023 had wanted a fresh retrial after nearly seven years of a back-and-forth between the state and the accused persons over 27 counts of causing financial loss to the state in the procurement of fertiliser under the previous NDC regime.

However, Justice Mensah maintained that the new High Court judge should rely on previous court proceedings under the old judge and continue from there.

That case was also withdrawn by the Attorney General, Dr Dominic Ayine, in January 2025, after the NDC took over the reins of government.