The public debate sparked by the Judges and Magistrates Association about the existence of corruption in Ghana’s Judiciary has been settled by a statement made by the Chief Justice, Mrs. Georgina Theodora Wood, clearly accepting that the canker is a fact, pointing out that the trend was no longer a perception.

In a Daily Guide publication dated Friday, November 9, 2007 and captured by Joy FM, the Chief Justice stated: “Corruption poses a huge threat to our legitimacy and limits rather severely our capacity to effectively fulfill our constitutional mandate.

When we remind ourselves of the ills that corruption has wrecked on our continent, we would commend, and not condemn all those who have dedicated themselves to fighting this evil canker.”

Mrs. Justice Wood went on: “I would like to give a firm assurance to the good people of Ghana that the Judicial Council is committed to using all available resources at our disposal to ensuring that judicial corruption is reduced to the barest minimum.”

Below is the full text of the Daily Guide’s report on the Chief Justice’s speech, at the launch of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) Report some five years ago. It was headed “Chief Justice Admits Corruption In Judiciary”, which has not been challenged since then.

The Chief Justice (CJ), Her Lordship Mrs. Georgina Theodora Wood, has conceded that there is a considerable degree of corruption in the judiciary, noting that the trend is no longer a matter of just perception.

She, therefore, called for an attitudinal change in the interest of the reputation of members.

Speaking at the launch of a Report on Judicial Corruption Monitoring Exercise in Ghana, which concluded that corruption in the judiciary was a reality, Mrs. Wood said the indictment, though created by a few people among them, had tainted the entire institution.

She expressed worry at the revelation, but thanked the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), which conducted the research, saying it was a good opportunity for the Service to take stock and truthfully confront the issue.

“This is by far the most difficult duty for me to perform to deliver the keynote address at the launch of a report that indicts the Judiciary and concludes that the phenomenon of judicial corruption is real and not a perception,” she said.

The CJ reminded her colleagues that a high level of integrity was crucial for the survival of constitutional democracy anywhere, and urged them to be very thankful to the leaders of GII for taking it upon themselves to delve into the allegation.

“Corruption poses a huge threat to our legitimacy and limits rather severely our capacity to effectively fulfill our constitutional mandate. When we remind ourselves of the ills that corruption has wrecked on our continent, we would commend, and not condemn all those who have dedicated themselves to fighting this evil canker,” she stressed.

The CJ was however, optimistic that with recently announced efforts by government to improve the lots of judges, things would change for the better.

According to her, “There is one good reason why I believe things should change and not remain as they are,” emphasizing that the report identified low remuneration as one of the immediate causes of corruption in the Service.

She further called the attention of her colleagues to the fact that there was no way they could lead any crusade if their images were tainted with the very vices they were tasked to fight against, citing lack of moral authority and political will to do so.

Concluding, Mrs. Wood promised to do all in her power and if possible, fall on international institutions, to reverse the trend.

“I would like to give a firm assurance to the good people of Ghana that the Judicial Council is committed to using all available resources at our disposal to ensuring that judicial corruption is reduced to the barest minimum.”

The GII research, conducted mainly in Accra, Tema and Kumasi, said over 52 per cent of judges and magistrates, 64.2 per cent of lawyers and 51.3 per cent of litigants agreed judicial corruption was real.

What has not been determined is the extent to which the incidence of corruption affects judicial performance and ultimately the economic development of the country.

Present at the launch were Dr. Audrey Gadzekpo, Dr. Dominic Ayine, Maulvi Wahab Adam, Vitus Azeem, all of GII and Mrs. Leonora Kyeremanteng of the National Governance Office.

Source: Daily Guide.

Meanwhile, two of the five blacklisted lawyers have told The Herald that despite the decision of the Supreme Court judges not to hear cases involving them, they have been going to court every day and are being accorded hearing by some High Court judges.

The lawyers, Messrs Chris Ackummey and David Annan, in separate interviews yesterday, disclosed to The Herald that they were in court even yesterday, (Thursday, June 2, 2011) to handle cases on behalf of their clients, and the judges were nice to them.

Lawyer David Annan, who is coincidentally acting as counsel for a judge accused by Mr. Charles Zwennes of perverting justice in connivance with a female lawyer, said that it appears to him that the ban on hearing of their cases is only at the Supreme Court, and specifically, to Dr. Raymond Atuguba.

Mr. Annan told the paper that he is yet to hear from the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council, although he is informed that the complaints by the Judges and Magistrates Association have been referred to the council.

On his part, Mr. Ackummey confirmed his appearances in court, and said he is yet to encounter any difficulty.

In another development, The Herald has picked up information that a group is about to petition against the conduct of the Supreme Court judges who refused to hear Dr. Atuguba, when he appeared before them representing one Sumaila Bielbiel in a case in which his client is seeking to stop the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Adamu Daramani Sakande, from continuing to be a Ghanaian lawmaker, on allegations that the MP is a foreigner.

The Justices are Julius Ansah, Rose O. Owusu, Jones Mawulom Dotse, Anin Yeboah, Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, B.T. Aryeetey, Sulemana A. Gbadegbe and Vida Akoto-Bamfo, and the panel was presided over by Justice Stephen Alan Brobbey.