The Supreme Court of Ghana is set to deliver its judgment today, Wednesday, December 18, 2024, on two high-profile lawsuits challenging the legality of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, commonly known as the Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill.
Broadcast journalist Richard Dela Sky and Dr. Amanda Odoi, a researcher at the University of Cape Coast, have filed separate suits questioning the constitutionality and procedural propriety of the bill’s passage by Parliament earlier this year. Both plaintiffs seek the Court’s intervention to determine whether the bill aligns with Ghana’s constitutional standards.
The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, which prohibits LGBTQ+ activities, as well as their promotion, advocacy, and funding, was passed by Parliament on February 28, 2024. However, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has not yet assented to the bill, stating that he will await the Supreme Court’s ruling before taking further action.
On March 5, 2024, Mr. Sky, a private legal practitioner and journalist, filed a lawsuit at the Supreme Court, contending that the bill violates several provisions of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. His suit references Articles 33(5), 12(1) and (2), 15(1), 17(1) and (2), 18(2), and 21(1)(a)(b)(d)(e), arguing that the legislation poses serious threats to fundamental human rights and freedoms guaranteed to all Ghanaians under the Constitution.
Today’s judgment is expected to clarify the legal and constitutional controversies surrounding the bill and its implications for Ghanaian society.
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