Re. Unnecessary Adjournment of Court Cases Hampering Corruption Fight – NPP MP

I have been contemplating in my mind writing an article about the causes and consequences of this very fact of incessant and indefinite adjournment of cases by the courts being a major reason for lack of justice or its unpardonable long delay, the state of lawlessness and acts of corruption in our country (https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Unnecessary-adjournment-of-court-cases-hampering-corruption-fight-NPP-MP-677900). It is all about how the judiciary in Ghana has been woefully failing to perform its functions creditably even post-Anas’ exposure of the endemic corruption in it. The judiciary, like the administration in Ghana, is failing us woefully and getting away with murder! It was long overdue to put it on trial and be sanctioned with radical reforms to weed from it the anachronistic and backward vestiges that it carries to bring justice to bear on citizens. As it is presently, it is an outmoded caricature of a civilised system.

I write from the perspective of an organisation theorist and state formation specialist looking at the functions of the judiciary as an ancillary service for the good governance of a country. Thus, it is responsible for adjudicating between parties in disputes, presiding over criminal and civil cases involving those accused of breaching the laws and regulations of the land or failing to honour agreements.

How many times did Judge Quist adjourn passing judgement in the case which has become the central theme of Agyapong's campaign against Anas? 14 times before the prosecutor went on retirement and handed the case to a new person! And that is a case both the defence and prosecution have rested their cases! What on earth could be adduced as grounds for adjournment so many times? This must be unacceptable in any just and civilised system!

As for chieftaincy disputes, some have been in the courts for over 20 years! That's simply barbaric! The system in place has failed totally and must be scrapped completely and replaced with a new structure, as I advocated in Part 2 of the articles I wrote in April 2011 ( https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/Taming-The-Ghanaian-State-Reforming-Chieftaincy-206678 ).

I think I should quote at length the relevant part of that article to highlight my position.

“ABOLISH REGIONAL HOUSES OF CHIEFS
The non-performance of the Regional Houses of Chiefs, especially the moribund VR House of Chiefs, to resolve conflicts, partly because the State has not equipped them with the requisite human and financial resources, (plaintiffs and defendants even have to pay the sitting allowances on cases), clearly show these modern creations have failed in their assigned duties and must be scrapped in some regions and replaced with District Judicial Chambers of Chiefs (DJCC). A VR Judicial Council of Chiefs in which no Anlo chief is sitting at the moment to resolve issues on Anlo is an anomaly, as it flaunts the very premise for handing over to them such powers, that is, they have the requisite knowledge about customary norms and practices to better adjudicate over customary issues. No wonder they have displayed their incompetence and lack of interest in resolving a dispute which does not concern nor affect their areas of jurisdiction such as the Anlo Awoamefia dispute. They must be scrapped in the constitutional review in progress or in the future. They have proved themselves to be totally useless and a colossal waste of time.

ESTABLISH DISTRICT JUDICIAL CHAMBERS OF CHIEFS

In place of the disbanded Regional Houses of Chiefs should be created District Judicial Chambers of Chiefs (DJCC), whose membership shall include respective kingmakers of the area and some specialised individuals to be determined in each area of jurisdiction.

Chieftaincy disputes should only go to the new DJCC for arbitration when the two parties agreed. No one can be installed as chief unless the DJCC approved, if a dispute is brought before it. Otherwise, the ordinary courts should have the right of being the courts of first instance a party can go to, thereby by-passing the DJCC in case of a dispute. We are in a republic and we must modernise along those lines. By this, I am not suggesting that the so-called ordinary courts of the State are flawless dispensers of justice in Ghana. The intolerable high level of corruption in them and the awfully long years they take to adjudicate over simple matters are well known to the long suffering victims of their gross incompetence in the administration of justice in Ghana. I had already referred to the case of the disgraced Mr Woanya of the Denu High Court in Part 1. The judiciary, along with the Police or security service, are therefore parts and parcel of the rogue State in Ghana and they must be reformed radically too in order to serve the people speedily and without the graft and partisanship we now know are associated with them. The Judiciary and law education in Ghana must therefore also be reformed in order to take upon the added role of settling chieftaincy disputes. Coding and teaching customary law practices must become an essential part of the curriculum of law education and jurisprudence in Ghana.”

I wrote this way back in 2011 before Anas came out with his revelations on the judiciary. Fact is, the justice system in Ghana is simply horribly dysfunctional and MUST BE RADICALLY REFORMED, starting with legal education along the lines Prof. Kwaku Asare (Azar) has been fighting for. There are just too few lawyers in Ghana due to the guild-like restrictive stranglehold of the General Legal Council (GLC). Law education is being handled like a Medieval guild system by Master craftsmen, with only a few chosen to enter each year, despite the excruciating pains and chaos the inability to resolve cases quickly is causing the citizenry. From the political scientist and organisation theorist perspectives, it is the duty of the politicians to initiate the processes to reform and restructure the judiciary, as politics trumps the law. Politics rules and determines what must be despite the façade of the rule of law. The primacy of politics over law is not only asserted but the reality. I will therefore like to make some suggestions for the brave new world I envisage.

Every local authority must have a magistrate court with a high court too for each district and each region must have a court of appeal. The backlog of cases in the courts are simply insane!

Legislation must be made specifying rules for handling cases promptly. This must deal with the uncivilised and Medieval practice of keeping suspects on remand for years on end without trial.

This is just a brief overview of the situation and possible solutions. I have not touched on new penal codes with severe sanctions for treating cases of corruption. This is just written to give support to the MP and start a debate.

Andy C. Y. Kwawukume
[email protected]