Indicted lawyers, judge risk disciplinary actions -Lawyer Okudzeto

He said on an Accra-based radio station that the General Legal Counsel charged with the power to regulate the conduct and behavior of lawyers, also has the power to discipline lawyers and judges.

He explained that the counsel was made up of a subcommittee; the disciplinary committee which was mandated to make enquiries into matters brought to it against lawyers and further takes decisions which are later refer it to the General Legal Counsel with a recommendation on the kind of punishment to be inflicted upon the lawyer.

The Supreme Court Friday in its ruling indicted lawyers for Waterville and Alfred Agbesi Woyome for failing to do due diligence in their clients' cases and consequently referred the conduct of the lawyers to the General Legal Counsel for disciplinary action.

Apart from the indicted lawyers, the court also indicted judges who presided over the decision to pay the said judgement debt for failing to protect the public purse.

According to Mr Okudzeto the court's decision to indict the lawyers and the judges was needed, adding that, 'there have been a lot of things which have been happening, lawyers are misbehaving, judges are misbehaving and then in the end we say all judges are corrupt; which is not true and cannot be true.'

'There are good ones and there are bad ones. So if we see there are bad behaviours in any of them we should bring it out, let an enquiry be made in to it so that those who are responsible be disciplined and publicized. Let us set standard for everyone to understand and know.'

'People should be bold, bring the evidence so that we can clean the system and make sure that all these things are done away with. In fact we should extend it to the politicians. Let us discipline them so that we have a clean society,' he further stated. Listen to audio here

Mr Okudzeto indicated that the behaviour by the judge was an indictment to the Attorney General's Department.

He said 'all these issues about judgement debt that we now have a whole judge sitting in a committee to hear these matters have arisen because of negligence on the part of many people in that department. Not all of them but some of them may have been involved in these matters. That's why we have so many judgement debts; we don't understand how the judgement arose, what was the nature of the contract, why was it that the case was not defended in the court. They are serious matters, very serious matters in deed.'

He further congratulated Mr Martin Amidu for doing a yeoman's job in his effort to expose corrupt individuals in the fight against corruption.

By Jasmine Arku/Graphic.com.gh
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