Ghana Judges' Two‑Month Vacation Triggers Reform Calls and Refutes Case‑Selection Claims

Anti‑corruption activist Vitus Azeem has urged the Ghanaian government to end the long judicial vacation, describing the two‑month annual shutdown as a colonial relic that delays justice for thousands of litigants. He argued that modern, air‑conditioned court facilities make the practice unnecessary and suggested staggered leave so some courts remain operational year‑round.

Legal scholar Stephen Kwaku Asare, based in the United States, dismissed allegations that the Chief Justice is selectively assigning high‑profile cases to be heard during the vacation. Asare explained that the appointment of “vacation judges” is a long‑standing procedure that allows judges to handle motions and manage their own caseloads, without direction to hear specific cases. He said the impression of selective case‑assignment is “simply false.”