TANTALUS on My Mind: Speaker Bagbin’s Lawyer Mocks Supreme Court’s ‘Spent’ Order

In a bold rebuke, Thaddeus Sory, attorney for the Speaker of Parliament, has poured scorn on the Supreme Court’s latest ruling in a high-profile parliamentary seats case. Taking to Facebook, Sory dismantled the court’s reasoning, arguing that its latest move to “stay execution” of the Speaker’s statement on the affected MPs has now “run its course.” With a headline-grabbing post titled “THERE IS NO ORDER AGAINST THE SPEAKER,” Sory set the tone for what he calls a “Tantalus” judgment – a reference to the Greek myth about futile punishment.

According to Sory, the court’s 109-page majority decision reeks of overreach. He asserts that the ruling “lacked the cause of action,” meaning the plaintiff hadn’t formally amended the original filing to address the Speaker’s subsequent ruling on October 17, 2024. Justice Darko Asare’s lead judgment even admitted that the Speaker’s directive didn’t feature in the plaintiff’s initial grievance, calling into question the grounds for the Court’s “extraordinary ex-parte order” in October.

Sory didn’t hold back on his analysis of the court’s procedural missteps, saying, “All he [Justice Asare] says is that the constitutional provisions in controversy bear the meaning he has put on them—without positively saying that he has declared the Speaker’s decision null and void.”

Sory wrapped up with a punch: “The stay order against the Speaker’s ruling is now spent. Mr Plaintiff, TANTALUS on my mind,” a sharp jab implying that the Plaintiff’s quest for an order against the Speaker remains eternally unfulfilled, much like the mythological Tantalus condemned to grasp for unattainable fruit.

In his final remarks, Sory underscored that the majority decision may have “run its course,” but it certainly hasn’t quelled the discord over who truly has the final say in determining parliamentary seats.

Source: thehawkghana