AS PART of efforts to enhance the justice delivery system, a Justice of the Court of Appeal, 11 Circuit Court judges and eight magistrates, were on Wednesday sworn in by the Chief Justice (CJ), Her Ladyship Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, at a ceremony in Accra.

The Court of Appeal Judge, Ms Irene Charity Danquah, a private legal practitioner was supposed to have been sworn in by the President, who delegated the CJ to do so as he had traveled to Germany.

The ceremony was held in two sessions for the swearing in of the Appeals Court Judge, the Judges and Magistrates.

The CJ, in her address on the swearing in of Ms Danquah, said she believed the Judge would be highly protective of the high position entrusted to her by the people of Ghana and ensure that self-seekers were completely kept at bay.

According to the CJ, it did not amount to controversy that “only persons with considerable skills and competence deserve to be appointed to this high office of the judiciary”.

She said the search for competent people from the Bar to fill Judicial vacancies in the senior judiciary in particular, was an arduous task, given that experienced legal practitioners were reluctant to leave the Bar and maybe their lucrative practice for what they perceive as a lonely life on the Bench.

She further noted that experienced legal practitioners perceived a call to the Bench as a life of apparent impecuinity coupled with unwarranted verbal attacks from sections of the general public and the fear that one was being called into bondage of living a hermit's life.

Her Ladyship noted that even though “public service may not be as lucrative as being in private service, it has its own rewards” as the satisfaction of being able to contribute to the public good could “not compare to any economic windfall that may be derived from the Bar”, and appealed to lawyers to give the matter of this public service some very useful thought.

The Attorney-General (A-G), Joe Ghartey, in a short speech, commended the Judiciary and noted that throughout the world the judiciary was seen as the beacon of hope in Africa.

He said as a human institution, it was not perfect and that the Judiciary is an institution which recognizes its shortcomings and is taking steps to address it.

The A-G noted that some people only believe the Judiciary is independent when a case goes in their favour “but when they lose, all hell breaks loose”, stressing the judiciary was an independent institution.

Hon. Ghartey stated that he was not just saying this from his own perspective but shared the feeling of lawyers who go to court everyday to argue their cases and for majority of Ghanaians who take their cases to court for adjudication.

At the inaugural ceremony of the Judges and Magistrates, Her Ladyship, in her speech, advised them to work hard and demonstrate a clear knowledge of both substantive and procedural laws and have a passion for justice coupled with a commitment to judicial integrity and the rule of law.

She bemoaned the alarming trend whereby Judges and Magistrates create mountains of partly-heard cases and said it creates enormous difficulties for the key actors in the justice delivery system including the administration.

The CJ said those who were affected mostly by the bewildering court management practices were members of the public who “we are supposed to serve diligently as litigants keep going in and out of the courts endlessly without knowing or seeing the expected closure of their cases and obtaining reliefs which they are seeking”.

Furthermore, she said such dangerous practices create untold financial, emotional and psychological difficulties for court users.

In addition, Mrs. Wood expressed the belief and hope that they would have a strong passion for justice by being sensitive to disputants who appear before them and not subject them to such harrowing experiences.

An executive member of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Mr. Benson Nutsukpui, in his remark, told the newly appointed Judges and Magistrates to show respect for members of the Bar as there had been complaints from some lawyers about how they were treated by some of the Magistrates and Judges whenever they appeared before them.

By Fidelia Achama Source: Daily Guide - Daily Guide