Judicial Scandal: 8 Judges Walkout Of C'ttee Sittings To Go To Court

The work of the five-member Disciplinary Committee  set up by the Judicial Council  to probe some 22 lower court judges and magistrates indicted in the latest investigative piece by Anas Aremeyaw Anas, has hit a snag for the second time.

This is because the eight other judges have also announced their decision to join in the suit filed by fourteen of their colleagues, challenging the legality of the committee and the procedure used to suspend them.

The lower court judges have argued that the investigative committee does not have the authority to sanction them adding that it is only a court of competent jurisdiction that must try them before any sanction from the service.

The committee last week suspended its sittings due to the pending lawsuits in court.

But in a rather dramatic turn of events, the eight other judges who appeared before it on Wednesday staged a walkout during the sitting with the excuse that they are joining the class action. Meanwhile the maker of the documentary, Anas Aremeyaw Anas is meeting the committee.

It is unclear how the committee will proceed after this. But the decision by the eight judges could delay the investigative process.

The Chief Justice has constituted an appellate panel to hear all appeals and applications that may arise from the decisions of the court actions.

The Chief Justice is also in the process of assessing if a prima facie case can be established against 12 High Court judges, some of who are in court after they were accused of taking bribes in the video.

Over eighty employees of the judicial service, police, AG's department and the prisons who have also been identified in the video, are to be investigated by two separate committees.

-citifmonline