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Rule of Law and the ‘Do You Know Who I Am’ Syndrome: Reflections on Political Security in Ghana

Rule of Law and the ‘Do You Know Who I Am’ Syndrome: Reflections on Political Security in Ghana HENRIETTA MENSA-BONSU and PHILIP ATTUQUAYEFIO I. INTRODUCTION Governance based on laws has long been established as critical to the development of democratic societies. Such societies therefore invest substantially in developing and sometimes codifying a body of laws for the purposes of governance as well as to guide the interactions of its citizens. Beyond the existence of the body of laws, the principles of equality and justice in the application of the law are central to all democratic societies. In Ghana, the preamble of the 1992 constitution states the cardinal principles of equality and justice by indicating the purpose for the adoption of the constitution as `. . . to establish a framework of government which shall secure for ourselves and posterity, the blessings of liberty, equality of opportunity and prosperity'.1 Thus, with the exception of statutory or constitutional provisions granting exceptions to the President and Members of Parliament during the execution of their parliamentary functions, equality in the application of the laws of the land is assumed in all instances. In practice, however, ensuring equality in the implementation of statutory provisions has been confronted with challenges. A number of reasons have been suggested as accounting for these challenges. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png African Journal of International and Comparative Law Edinburgh University Press

Rule of Law and the ‘Do You Know Who I Am’ Syndrome: Reflections on Political Security in Ghana

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Publisher
Edinburgh University Press
Copyright
© Edinburgh University Press 2016
Subject
General issue Article; African Studies
ISSN
0954-8890
eISSN
1755-1609
DOI
10.3366/ajicl.2016.0175
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

HENRIETTA MENSA-BONSU and PHILIP ATTUQUAYEFIO I. INTRODUCTION Governance based on laws has long been established as critical to the development of democratic societies. Such societies therefore invest substantially in developing and sometimes codifying a body of laws for the purposes of governance as well as to guide the interactions of its citizens. Beyond the existence of the body of laws, the principles of equality and justice in the application of the law are central to all democratic societies. In Ghana, the preamble of the 1992 constitution states the cardinal principles of equality and justice by indicating the purpose for the adoption of the constitution as `. . . to establish a framework of government which shall secure for ourselves and posterity, the blessings of liberty, equality of opportunity and prosperity'.1 Thus, with the exception of statutory or constitutional provisions granting exceptions to the President and Members of Parliament during the execution of their parliamentary functions, equality in the application of the laws of the land is assumed in all instances. In practice, however, ensuring equality in the implementation of statutory provisions has been confronted with challenges. A number of reasons have been suggested as accounting for these challenges.

Journal

African Journal of International and Comparative Law – Edinburgh University Press

Published: Nov 1, 2016

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