Accra, Nov. 14, GNA - Mr. Fabrizio De Agostini, Italian Ambassador in Ghana Wednesday paid a courtesy call on Chief Justice Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood at her office in Accra. The call focussed on the Italian government's aim to spearhead discussions on abolishing the death penalty at the United Nation's (UN), a debate in which Ghana's input would be most welcomed. Mr De Agostini said the issue of capital punishment was quite a controversial matter in many parts of the world.

He asked the international community for a moratorium on the death penalty pending the outcome of the debate at the UN. He said putting people to death by capital punishment was not the solution to the issue of crime and violence in the system. He also informed the Chief Justice about the Italian judicial system, which had two supreme courts one of which had a constitutional interpretation and the other for legal matters. He extended an invitation to the CJ to visit the Italian Supreme court and learn from its experience. Mrs Justice Georgina Wood told the Ambassador that even though Ghana still had the death penalty in its constitution it was rarely used. She called for a debate on the matter and urged the Italian government to assist the Ghanaian judiciary to enhance its infrastructural facilities by building court complexes, installing automated machines and the preservation of evidence. 14 Nov. 07