Making the judiciary effcient and accountable
Gilbert Boyefio
16/06/2008
The need to put a searchlight on the judiciary to ensure that they do not abuse the public trust reposed in them by the Constitution was the focus of a two-day media workshop held in Accra last week.
The workshop was part of a judicial accountability programme being implemented by the Civic Foundation in collaboration with the Right and Voice Initiative (RAVI) aimed at improving access to justice and delivery of justice, especially for the poor and vulnerable.
To achieve this, participants of the workshop stressed the need to demystify the judiciary, learn how the justice system functions to be able to monitor it and expose some of the challenges facing the service.
In the 2007 Transparency International Global Corruption Report, the Ghanaian judicial service was rated the fourth most corrupt institution in the country. More worrying is the judiciary's admission of abuses perpetuated by some of its judges.
In his message to launch the 2005 Legal Year celebrations, the Chief Justice lamented that judges and judicial officers had often sought refuge under the cloak of judicial independence to mete out punishments which constitute an affront to the dignity and sanctity of the bench.
According to Mary Tobbins of RAVI, although Article 127 clauses 1 and 2 of the 1992 Constitution grant the judiciary exclusive powers over judicial and administrative functions, a judge is first and foremost a citizen and is subject to the ordinary laws of the land.
She said it is the law that governs the appointment of judges and the same should govern their conduct in the performance of their judicial responsibilities.
She said it is a fundamental principle of democracy for the citizenry to have the rights to demand accountability from all public office holders, and as such, the judiciary should not be allowed to hide under the cloak of judicial independence to mete out injustice to the public.
Mrs Tobbins however admitted that the judiciary over the years has attempted making its administrative processes transparent by publishing an annual report that outlines the operations and performance of every aspect of the service.
She said these initiatives by the judiciary are bold expressions of accountability to the people, adding, "As one of the powerful institutions of State, whose powers are subjected to no other but the Constitution, these moves are significantly commendable."
But the snag here, according to her, is that who sets the targets and systems for its performance? She expressed the need to advocate for a justice system with accountability through the media, public forums, and in the halls of government. She said the public must engage the judiciary in the process of the judicial reforms to ensure effective accountability.
Speaking on the topic "legal failures and the role of the media in promoting access to justice and ensuring judicial accountability," Raymond Atuguba, a lecturer and legal practitioner, said there were countless judicial failures in Ghana.
He mentioned some as bribery and corruption, outdated and horrible laws upheld by the judiciary, wrong interpretation and implementation of the law, no timely justice, moneyed justice and the use of procedural rules to obviate substantive justice ends.
Mr. Atuguba said as the judiciary try to address these lapses, state interventions such as appeals, quashing proceedings, rulings, and judgments, petitioning to the Chief Justice or the Supervising high court judge, and the public complaints and court inspectorate unit.
He however explained that these measures were not enough because they are all internal explaining that the judiciary needed an external searchlight in a democracy. He said others, including the media, must ensure that there was enough scrutiny of the judiciary to keep it within our democratic parameters.
He pointed out that scrutiny of judicial processes and judicial personnel was not interference with the functioning of the judicial system, adding, "I can be critical or full of praise of an institution without interfering in its processes."
Mr Atuguba observed that the fear of interference should be that which may come from the Legislature and or the Executive and which has the potential to disrupt the principl of separation of powers in the Constitution.
He said the watchful eye of the public was necessary because justice according to Article 125 of the 1992 Constitution emanates from the people and shall be administered in the name of the Republic by the judiciary, adding that it is the citizenry that loses the most when there is a judicial failure.
"Only a watchful media and citizenry can initiate and sustain the self-correcting measures of judicial failure," he concluded.
16/06/2008
The need to put a searchlight on the judiciary to ensure that they do not abuse the public trust reposed in them by the Constitution was the focus of a two-day media workshop held in Accra last week.
The workshop was part of a judicial accountability programme being implemented by the Civic Foundation in collaboration with the Right and Voice Initiative (RAVI) aimed at improving access to justice and delivery of justice, especially for the poor and vulnerable.
To achieve this, participants of the workshop stressed the need to demystify the judiciary, learn how the justice system functions to be able to monitor it and expose some of the challenges facing the service.
In the 2007 Transparency International Global Corruption Report, the Ghanaian judicial service was rated the fourth most corrupt institution in the country. More worrying is the judiciary's admission of abuses perpetuated by some of its judges.
In his message to launch the 2005 Legal Year celebrations, the Chief Justice lamented that judges and judicial officers had often sought refuge under the cloak of judicial independence to mete out punishments which constitute an affront to the dignity and sanctity of the bench.
According to Mary Tobbins of RAVI, although Article 127 clauses 1 and 2 of the 1992 Constitution grant the judiciary exclusive powers over judicial and administrative functions, a judge is first and foremost a citizen and is subject to the ordinary laws of the land.
She said it is the law that governs the appointment of judges and the same should govern their conduct in the performance of their judicial responsibilities.
She said it is a fundamental principle of democracy for the citizenry to have the rights to demand accountability from all public office holders, and as such, the judiciary should not be allowed to hide under the cloak of judicial independence to mete out injustice to the public.
Mrs Tobbins however admitted that the judiciary over the years has attempted making its administrative processes transparent by publishing an annual report that outlines the operations and performance of every aspect of the service.
She said these initiatives by the judiciary are bold expressions of accountability to the people, adding, "As one of the powerful institutions of State, whose powers are subjected to no other but the Constitution, these moves are significantly commendable."
But the snag here, according to her, is that who sets the targets and systems for its performance? She expressed the need to advocate for a justice system with accountability through the media, public forums, and in the halls of government. She said the public must engage the judiciary in the process of the judicial reforms to ensure effective accountability.
Speaking on the topic "legal failures and the role of the media in promoting access to justice and ensuring judicial accountability," Raymond Atuguba, a lecturer and legal practitioner, said there were countless judicial failures in Ghana.
He mentioned some as bribery and corruption, outdated and horrible laws upheld by the judiciary, wrong interpretation and implementation of the law, no timely justice, moneyed justice and the use of procedural rules to obviate substantive justice ends.
Mr. Atuguba said as the judiciary try to address these lapses, state interventions such as appeals, quashing proceedings, rulings, and judgments, petitioning to the Chief Justice or the Supervising high court judge, and the public complaints and court inspectorate unit.
He however explained that these measures were not enough because they are all internal explaining that the judiciary needed an external searchlight in a democracy. He said others, including the media, must ensure that there was enough scrutiny of the judiciary to keep it within our democratic parameters.
He pointed out that scrutiny of judicial processes and judicial personnel was not interference with the functioning of the judicial system, adding, "I can be critical or full of praise of an institution without interfering in its processes."
Mr Atuguba observed that the fear of interference should be that which may come from the Legislature and or the Executive and which has the potential to disrupt the principl of separation of powers in the Constitution.
He said the watchful eye of the public was necessary because justice according to Article 125 of the 1992 Constitution emanates from the people and shall be administered in the name of the Republic by the judiciary, adding that it is the citizenry that loses the most when there is a judicial failure.
"Only a watchful media and citizenry can initiate and sustain the self-correcting measures of judicial failure," he concluded.
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