Judge appeals for respect of judicial system

Kumasi, Feb. 8, GNA - His Lordship, Mr Justice Yaw Apau, a Justice of the Appeal Court, has cautioned the public against vilification and pronouncements that disrepute the integrity and independence of the country's judicial system.

He said it was important for people who had reservations on decisions made by the courts to do the right thing by following the laid down legal procedures to seek redress at superior courts, instead of maligning the integrity of the judicial system.

Interacting with some journalists in Kumasi on Wednesday, Mr Justice Apau, the outgoing Ashanti Regional Supervising High Court Judge, pointed out that, there was the need for Ghanaians to ensure that the judicial system worked efficiently to protect the rights and freedoms of the people at all times.

"If the judiciary is faulty, the society is at risk", he quipped. The Appeal Court Judge's caution comes in the wake of the current wave of criticisms and derision of the judicial system, following the conviction of Mr Dan Abodakpi, former Minister of Trade and Industry by an Accra Fast Track High Court for wilfully causing financial loss to the state.

The Minority in Parliament had described the 10-year jail term handed down to Mr Abodakpi as politically motivated and had therefore boycotted proceedings in the House to protest the conviction of Mr Abodakpi, who is also MP for Keta. Mr Justice Apau explained that, the right thing for people who saw a decision or a judgement by a court as wrong, was to file an appeal at the superior court, adding that, "this will help move the nation as a decent society".

He said to promote human rights and freedoms as well as the country's democracy, people should desist from politicising judicial judgements and stop creating wrongful impression that, judges were being influenced in their decisions. Turning to the media, Mr Justice Apau emphasised that the media had greater responsibility to ensure that the right things were done in society.

He said it was important for journalists to always ensure that the truth was told at all times, reminding media practitioners of the existence of the civil libel law in the statute books and advised them to discharge their duties according to the ethics of their profession to avoid coming into confrontation with the law. The Appeal Court Judge said so far as the media had the right to go about their duties without any hindrance, individuals also had the right to protect their reputations and asked journalists to desist from acts that could send them to jail. Mr Justice Apau charged the media to always seek expert advise in areas they had no knowledge of before they published issues on them. 8 Feb. 07