The Appeals Board of the University of Ghana Students’ Representative Council has declared the appointment of Mr. Jonathan Alua as SRC Legal Advisor unconstitutional. The Appeals Board held that Article 22(1) of the SRC constitution is not discriminatory but a constitutional limitation.
Earlier this semester, the Judicial Board of the SRC presided over by Justice Leo Andoh Gyimah unanimously held that the appointment of the Legal Advisor who did not undertake his undergraduate studies here in the University of Ghana was unconstitutional hence void but the ruling was appealed at the SRC Appeals Board.
The Board advised that the “review of the SRC constitution should consider the provision on the position of the Legal Advisor which should be amended to the effect that an undergraduate Law Student in the third year moving to his final year shall be deemed eligible” and suggested further that only undergraduates should be appointed as Legal Advisor and the policy rationale will be made available in the written ruling.
SRC Committee Heads
The Appeals Board held that “the swearing-in of the Executive Council (Committee) should be done at the last sitting of the General Assembly this semester to retroactively validate the act” of the appointment of the committee heads whose appointments the Judicial Board declared unconstitutional in its ruling.
The Executive Committee
The Appeals Board held that “the swearing-in henceforth of executive committee members should be done at the first sitting of the General Assembly of the new SRC administration” and recommended finally that “article 14(1) should be read to the effect that as many members of the Executive Council who are present or are available should be sworn-in, all other appointees who come afterwards should be sworn in as and when they are available.”
In effect, the SRC Executive Officers in consultation with the Executive Committee of the SRC after the latter has been sworn in shall appoint a new legal advisor, who, from this ruling shall be an undergraduate student of the University of Ghana.
The Appeals Board was constituted by the Registrar of the University Mrs. Mercy Haizel-Ashia, Dean of Student Affairs Professor Francis Nunoo who is the Chairman, one Chief Justice of the Halls of residence and 4 legal secretaries of African Union Hall (Pentagon), Akuafo, Hall, Alexander Kwapong Hall and Volta Hall.
Earlier this semester, Derrick Abotsi, and Daniel Amewor led a student think tank to sue the SRC over the appointment of Jonathan Alua as SRC Legal Advisor on the premise that he did not undertake his undergraduate studies in the University of Ghana hence goes against the dictates of the SRC constitution and also that the committee heads’ appointment were not approved by the executive committee which did not even exist at the time by law because they had not been sworn-in.