General News of Wednesday, 29 June 2005

Source: Ghanaian Times

Judges murder was a terrible crime- Blair

The Queen?s Counsel and a distinguished British lawyer, William Blair says the abduction and murder of the three high court Judges and a retired military officer in 1982 remains a terrible crime in the history of Ghana.

Mr Blair, who is the elder brother of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, is currently in Ghana as the guest of honour for the 23rd remembrance anniversary of the three-murderd high court judges and the retired military officer.

He commended the Ghana Bar Association for mustering the courage to condemn the act at the time.

?They must be lauded for their commitment to upholding the rule of law in Ghana,? he said.

He was speaking on the topic ? Global financial law? one law for all?? which was the first of the two series Martyrs Day lectures organized by the Ghana Bar Association and the Judicial Council.

Mr Blair also lauded Ghana for establishing commercial courts to boost investor confidence and promote investment.

He said the establishment of the courts would not only promote businesses in Ghana but also its decisions would enrich global financial laws.

Mr Blair said almost every country had financial laws that met global standards but the problem lies in the interpretation of such laws by the individual countries.

He called for convergence as far as global laws were concerned so that all the countries would be able to effectively fight against money laundering, finance for terrorist activities as well as push for better debt reliefs for poor nations.

Mr Blair gave the assurance that Africa will be on top of the G8 agenda when they meet in Scotland next month.