Accra, Dec. 09, GNA - Chief Justice Georgina Wood on Thursday asked Ghanaians to allow judges and magistrates to make their decisions without fear or favour in order to uphold the honour and integrity of their profession.

"Each time a judge is bribed, an injustice is born, each time a judge renders a decision tainted by corruption or other form of impropriety, the judiciary as the most scared secular institution of the land is undermined, each time a citizen suffers an injustice, the nation's motto of Freedom and Justice is anguished and injured," she added. Mrs Justice Wood was addressing the Ninth Chief Justice Forum on the theme: "Accessing Justice: The Citizen's Participation in the Administration of Justice".

The forum offers the judiciary the opportunity to deliberate on issues on infrastructure, attitude and related challenges affecting performance of the third estate.

She said citizens must refrain from the common practice of using extra legal methods to influence judges to render decisions in their favour. Chief Justice Wood said some litigants undoubtedly attempt to bribe judges and other judicial personnel to rule in their favour. She said the menace of corruption and the perception of its widespread prevalence, coupled with the rent seeking behaviours had threatened the values of transparency, equal justice and the perception of judicial equity. Mrs Justice Wood noted that the secrecy that shrouds such ungodly, criminal and unethical conduct made it more difficult to detect, control, punish and prevent its occurrence.

She noted that the Ghanaian judiciary remained determined to build on its strengths and success to broaden the scale of public confidence in the institution through enhanced service delivery and corruption free administration of justice.

"We remain positively sensitive to public concerns and perceptions regarding the neutrality and objective of judges and continue to work strenuously to improve these vital attributes in the judges," she said. The Chief Justice said the judicial service had over the years grappled with infrastructural deficits and adequate steps were being taken to overcome them with the construction of 34 courtroom complex to begin early next year.

She noted that a trusted, reliable, efficient and independent justice system was indispensable to the maintenance of peace, social harmony, promotion of commerce and prosperity. Mrs Justice Wood pointed out that the judiciary was firmly on course in expanding access to its services and facilities and ensuring transparency and accountability as important aspects of the business of enhancing access to justice in the country.

She mentioned reforms initiated in the Judiciary such as specialised courts in response to the growing need for the timely disposal of cases, the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as an essential component of the pre-trail process with the view to decongesting the courts. Mrs Justice Wood called on Ghanaians to assist in building a credible judicial system by reporting inappropriate actions of judges and judicial personnel to the complaint desks in the courts and assist in building infrastructure through the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies. Speaking on the role of the citizenry in the administration of Justice, Mr Ebo Barton-Odro, Deputy Minister of Justice, said character was of utmost importance in the judiciary and was intertwined with integrity of the individual judges and magistrates.

He said it involved acting according to one's conscience on what was right, lack of ambition to gain huzzas of fellow men, the ability to shun the limelight and commendation from the media, Mr Barton-Odro said though members of the bench were human, they should seek to what was right even though that would drawn on them an artillery of defamation and "all that falsehood and malice can invent". "The sense of responsibility for which the bench is held to account must pervade the ranks of those who serve the bench and the bar, and those who seek justice", he said.

He urged the media to appreciate the issues the bench and the bar were grappling with in the administration of justice and asked journalists to be sincere and honest when pronouncing on them. 9 Dec. 10