Judicial Council

About

The Judicial Council of the University of Energy and Natural Resources SRC is an independent arm of government chaired by the Chief Justice to device judicial reforms to the UENR SRC to help improve the level of administration of justice and efficiency in the Judiciary. It is a forum to enhance the administration of justice in the UENR-SRC. Justice in Unity has been the hallmark of the UENR-SRC Judicial Council, since its inception in 2012 as it serves as the embodiment of justice for the student council. It is the arm of the SRC government vested with the judicial powers of all the bodies under the SRC in accordance with the provision of the UENR SRC constitution, Article 15(1). The Council being an independent body under the SRC is only subjected to the provisions of the UENR SRC Constitution, the 1992 constitution of the Republic of Ghana, the establishing ACT, statutes and general rules and regulations of the University. Pursuant to Article 15(4) of the UENR SRC Constitution, The Council shall compose of The Chief Justice, a Supreme Court Justice, the Judicial Council Secretary, and Judges from various departmental Courts, Judges from the residential hall courts, a representative from the Student Bar Association and a representative in high ranking from the University Cadet Corps.

History

Before the Transition to The University of Energy and Natural Resources, UENR, the University was a Campus of KNUST as the Faculty of Forest Resources Technology, FFRT and was established in 2011. The FFRT was therefore the main ruling system of student governance and was presided by Mr Goodfellow Ofei. The Judicial Council system was a non-vibrant one at the time. The FFRT had to run a dual system of Student Governance when it had to hand over from FFRT to UENR therefore, the President nominated a UENR Vice President, Ms Gloria Esinam Darko and finally handed over fully to the UENR-SRC administration in 2014. The UENR-SRC appointed a substantive Chief Justice in the person of Justice Chronicles Opoku who revived the Judicial Council together with the Justices of the Supreme Court. During his tenure, he sat on one case which was filed by the student Activist, Mr Andah Kojo Okain during the 2014/15 academic year. Mr Andah's petition challenged the validity of the SRC Constitution in use at the time. The Chief Justice ruled in favour of Mr Andah and declared the Constitution null and void. He went on to constitute a Constitutional Review Committee which was chaired by the petitioner. The UENR-SRC Constitution was then reviewed in a period of a year and a half. Justice Cletus Ofosu succeeded Justice Chronicles Ofei as the Chief Justice of the UENR-SRC Judicial Council during His Excellency , Obed’s administration in the 2015/16 academic year. He was a learned legal person and run a vibrant Judicial Council. He tried two cases which were both filed by Mr Andah. The first case was filed in the 2015/16 academic year and it contended the composition and Constitutionality of the UENR-SRC Parliament. Measures were therefore put in place to re-constitute the Parliamentary System.

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The second case tried by Justice Cletus was a petition for perpetual injunction on the SRC week celebration for the 2016/17 academic year due to reasons the petitioner described as failure on the part of the SRC President at the time, His Excellency Henry Kosare Amoako, to deliver on his political promises cited during his campaign. He also stated in his petition that the SRC Week celebration had a voluminous budget and that the budget could be channelled to other projects of priority. Justice Cletus remained the Chief Justice of the UENR-SRC Judicial Council throughout His Excellency Boamah's administration as the Constitution demanded until the 2017/18 academic year which was the tenure of His Excellency Murdock Yeboah. The Judicial Council was defunct during Murdock's administration and it was not until the second half of his administration that he appointed the Chief Justice, Bernard Amankrah Koomson. The Judicial Council was then revived during His Excellency Joseph Adomako's tenure. A major case Justice Koomson tried was an election petition filed by the student Activist, Mr Enoch Ofori-Larbi to halt the bye election processes for the 2019/20 academic year. His petition questioned the eligibility of the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission and he claimed the EC Chair had not been vetted by Parliament and so was not credible. The Chief Justice and the Justices of the Supreme Court gave a unanimous judgment that the EC continued with the bye elections with the exception of the Financial Secretary portfolio since the EC did not duly follow the Constitutional processes of conducting such election. The current Wiafe Richard administration has processes ongoing to appoint a Chief Justice as the Constitution demands.

“The Judicial Council is the go-to for students, if anything, the only hope of students. It is an integral part of the SRC leadership architecture and should be given the needed attention and support by each President. The Council at all times should be a vibrant Arm that rules without fear or favour and it will go a long way to strengthen the remaining arms of government.”- Andah Kojo Okain (Fr. Student Activist)

Functions of the Judicial Council

Pursuant to Article 16(2) of the UENR SRC Constitution, The Judicial Council shall be responsible for formulating rules of procure for the Courts The Judicial Council shall organize workshops aimed at training Judges of the various Courts of the Supreme Court, School Courts, and Departmental Courts and residential Courts. The Council shall have the power to create sub-committees to deal with specific issues and issue directions for the purposes of securing or enforcing the powers conferred on it under this constitution. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the judicial Council shall where necessary recommend decisions to the appropriate University Authority for consideration and implementation. The Judicial Council shall per the UENR-SRC Constitution have and operate through courts such as; The Supreme Court or the SRC court The School courts Departmental Court; and The residential hall courts

Objectives

Strengthen the students trust and confidence in the Judiciary by deepening understanding of its functions Improve administrative capacity and efficient management of the Judiciary’s resources Improve access to the courts through the provision of adequate infrastructure, logistics and financial resources.

Core Values

• Independent-Mindedness
• Honesty
• Discipline
• Impartiality
• Dedication to duty
• Transparency

Current Executives of the UENR-SRC Judicial Council

Miss Favour Kalos

Supreme Court Justice (Ag. Chairperson)

Programme nformation Technology
Level 400

Joshua Dosoo Ocansey

Judge

Programme Mechanical Engineering
Level 300

Anderson Okai

Judge

Programme Computer Science and Informatics
Level 400

Joshua Kwame Essilfie

Judge

Programme Chemistry
Level 200

Miss Betty Kusi Asafo-Agyei

The Judicial Council Secretary

Programme Medical Laboratory Sciences
Level 400

Caleb Ghansah- Arhin

Judge

Programme Petroleum Engineering
Level 400

Mohammed Suraj Dannakabu

Judge

Programme Mohammed Suraj Dannakabu
Level 300

Gideon Afful

Judge

Programme Fire Safety and Disaster Management
Level 200

Mr Stanley Kubunya

University Cadet corps Representative

Programme Renewable Energy Engineering
Level 400

George Ashorm

Judge

Programme Medical Laboratory Sciences
Level 300

Michael Fosu

Judge

Programme Nursing
Level 300

David Nketiah Antwi

Judge

Programme Biological Sciences
Level 200

Mr Jones Abodoo

The Students’ Bar Representative

Programme Information Technology
Level 400

Priscilla Afoakwah Akuffo

Judge

Programme Enterprise Management and Entrepreneurship
Level 400

Josiane Akogo

Judge

Programme Hospitality Management
Level 300