General News of Wednesday, 13 November 2002

Source:  

Supreme Court Judges sworn in

President John Agyekum Kufuor has sworn 14 Justices of the Superior Courts of Judicature into office at the Castle, Osu. He administered the Judicial Oath and Oath of Allegiance to the judges made up of a woman and 13 men.

The four judges to the Supreme Court, who were recently approved by Parliament, were Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, Justice Stephen Allan Brobbey, Justice Samuel Glenn Baddoo and Dr. Justice Seth Twum. The only judge to the Appeal Court was Justice Gilbert Mensah Quaye.

The nine Judges to the High Court were Justice Godwin Gabor, Justice Gibson Kwabla Adzagli, Justice Emmanuel Henry Ampadu and Justice Tom Bentil. The rest were Justice Emmanuel Kwami Ayebi, Justice Robin Benantea Batu, Justice Lawrence Ladzagla Mensah, Justice Francis Kwabena Opoku and Justice Kwadwo Owusu.

President Kufuor said it was significant to have such a number of Judges to the Superior Courts to complement the courts and enable them to dispense justice with the speed the people were demanding. He said they were all learned people appointed to the Superior Courts and reminded them to exhibit that level of high learning and be people who have great conscience because the fate of people would be in their hands.

President Kufuor said conscience was critical to their new positions of trust. They should therefore, be humane and have heart for humanity since the entire society would depend on them to administer justice without fear or favour.

He said they should not be found wanting in truth because it was the worst crime a person of their standing could commit, adding that with so much corruption in the society, their responsibility should be to live a life that would convince the society, which was establishing democracy that with the trust reposed in the courts they could differentiate truth from falsehood.

Mrs Justice Wood on behalf of her colleagues gave the assurance that they would work hard to justify the trust reposed in them. She said they would continue to serve the country faithfully, with diligence and would not let the nation down.

Among those present at the ceremony was Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo,

Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, his deputy, Miss Gloria Akufo, the Chief Justice, Justice Edward Kwame Wiredu and some Supreme Court Judges and Ministers of State.