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The Supreme Court of Ghana on Wednesday, May 31 struck out the Imposition of Restrictions Act that allowed the government to place restrictions during the Covid period.
The seven-member panel presided over by Justice Jones Dotse by a unanimous decision ruled that the Imposition of Restrictions Act is inconsistent with the 1992 Constitution.
Law Professor and Human Rights advocate Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua along with eight others sued the government.
They contended that the said law was unconstitutional.
In their view it unlawfully empowered the President to unilaterally suspend fundamental human rights and freedoms in the whole or a part of Ghana, excluding the special role of the Chief Justice and the Superior Court of Judicature in managing or regulating the suspension of fundamental human rights and freedoms in the whole or a part of Ghana; and excluding the role of Parliament in managing or regulating the suspension of fundamental human rights and freedoms in the whole or a part of Ghana.
This comes at a time President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said the Covid emergency in Ghana was over.
Addressing the nation on Sunday, May 28, he recounted his earlier assurance that “This too shall pass.”
He stressed, “The emergency is over, this too has passed.”
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) recently announced that pre-departure testing and test at all points of entry were no more a requirement for all passengers.
The GHS also said that COVID-19 Health Declaration Form for international travellers had been suspended.
This was after the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced on 5th May 2023 that COVID-19 was no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
