Court Submissions to Shape Timeline for Constitutional Amendment Case
The timeline for resolving Sierra Leone’s constitutional amendment dispute will depend on the legal submissions placed before the Supreme Court, Judiciary spokesman Elkass Sannoh said.
Sannoh, the Judiciary’s director of communications, said the court would determine the pace of the matter based on the arguments and submissions presented by the parties before the judges.
The comments come as the Supreme Court continues hearing consolidated cases challenging aspects of the passage of the Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
On Wednesday, the court allowed the Attorney-General to participate in the proceedings despite the absence of a formal statement of case and also granted an application by the Institute for Legal Research and Advocacy for Justice to join the matter, according to reports on the proceedings.
The court has not yet determined the substantive constitutional questions surrounding the bill. Those issues include whether Parliament followed the constitutional requirements for passing an amendment and whether the required voting threshold was met.
Section 108 of Sierra Leone’s Constitution sets out the procedure for constitutional amendments, including a requirement that certain amendment bills receive support from at least two-thirds of Parliament on the second and third readings.
The Supreme Court’s determination will therefore be central to the next stage of the amendment process, while the timing of that determination remains dependent on the proceedings before the judges.