General News of Monday, 10 September 2018

Source: starrfmonline.com

Punish judges who deliver poor judgments – GBA

The association believes bad judgements make it difficult for citizens to repose confidence in them The association believes bad judgements make it difficult for citizens to repose confidence in them

The Ghana Bar Association has called on the Judicial Council to be bold and punish judges who administer bad judgements.

According to the association, bad judgements make it difficult for the citizenry to repose confidence in the judicial system of the country.

Speaking at the 2018/19 Annual General Conference of the Association in Koforidua in the Eastern region, President of the Bar Association Benson Nutsukpui also commended the judicial council for reverting the process of promoting and recruiting judges to the old system that acknowledges experience instead of written exams.

“We however wish to pray that the judicial council should take bold steps to strengthen the High court bench. The practice of assigning court of appeal judges as additional High court judges in most cases to handle perceived high profile cases entrenches the perception of a weak High court bench.

“…there’s the urgent need to sanction judges who deliver truly atrocious judgment not befitting of the high office of a High court judge. We as a bar will ensure that persons recommended by the association to the bench are of proven integrity and standard befitting the high office,” he said.

Mr. Nutsukpui also praised the Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo for visiting the various courts around the country to ensure that justice is delivered from the appropriate environment.

President Akufo-Addo and a host of other key dignitaries are attending the conference which is being held on the theme: “The impact of Technology on the Practice of Law: To move with the changing time”.

The Minister of Justice and Attorney General Gloria Akuffo in a speech said government has undertaken projects to digitizing and automate the judicial system in Ghana to enhance efficiency in justice delivery.