Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has described the Supreme Court as the single most influential institution in shaping how Ghana’s Fourth Republic constitution has worked in practice, crediting the court with anchoring constitutional supremacy, protecting fundamental rights, and steering the country through tense political moments, including the 2012 election petition, without derailing democratic stability. Delivering a lecture to mark the Supreme Court’s 150th anniversary on Thursday, Bagbin traced the court’s evolution from its colonial-era founding in 1876 through military rule to its current role as the apex guardian of the 1992 Constitution, arguing that no other institution has done more to translate constitutional text into lived democratic practice. While commending the court’s record, the Speaker was equally frank about the work still ahead, warning against what he called two opposite dangers: courts overreaching into matters better left to Parliament and the Executive, and courts showing excessive restraint when constitutional rights or democratic institutions come under real strain. He also pressed for greater consistency in how the court interprets the Constitution, noting that unpredictable swings between strict textual reading and broader purpose-driven reasoning can breed uncertainty for citizens, lawmakers and investors alike. Bagbin framed the relationship between Parliament and the Judiciary as one of constitutional partnership rather than rivalry, insisting that judicial review must respect Parliament’s democratic mandate just as lawmakers must respect the courts’ exclusive authority to interpret the Constitution. Looking ahead to challenges from artificial intelligence, data protection, climate change and cross-border commerce, he urged the court to use its next 150 years to become more independent, transparent and accessible, closing with a call for every future ruling to leave the Constitution “stronger than the Court found it.”