Chief Justice urges women judges to advance the rights of women

The Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Wood, on Thursday said women judges were in a unique position to advance the rights of women and children through the judicial system without compromising justice.

She said women judges could protect and empower women by ensuring that the courts were made more accessible to less privileged women and men, who must take their children along to court to have their family issues resolved.

Mrs Wood made the call when she unveiled a plaque to name the Children’s Playroom at the Juvenile Court after the late Mrs Justice Cecilia Koranteng-Addow in Accra.

The Ghana Chapter of International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ ), has adopted the playroom of the cluster of courts to take some stress off parents, especially mothers, by providing congenial reception for their children while pursuing their cases in court.

IAWJ is a non-profit organization with more than 4,000 members in about 90 countries, at all judicial levels.

Since its formation in 1991, the association has united women judges from diverse legal systems, who share commitment to equal justice and rule of law.

Mrs Wood said, women judges believed that dispensing justice must be holistic and were thus committed to being part of the challenge to provide an enabling environment to court users, especially women of less fortunate circumstances.

“By this, women judges are not only putting back into the community, which contributed to their lot but also advancing their cause of making quality justice accessible to women and children,” she said.

Mrs Wood said, women judges decided to name the playroom after the late Mrs Justice Koranteng-Addow because she was a woman judge and an excellent mother.

She said from all indications, the deceased was a family person as portrayed in tributes read to her memory year after year on Martyrs Day, to commemorate the abduction and murder of three High Court Judges and a Military Officer sometime in 1983, and this project was being undertaken by women judges.

Mrs Wood said the simple ceremony had deep significance for the judiciary and the rule of law in the country.

She said: “To this day, we remember and honour her memory, for her courage, diligence and dedication to duty and the unwavering commitment to uphold the rule of law without fear or favour and uphold rich family values”.

Mrs Wood announced the proposed establishment of an Integrated Family Justice Court in Accra, to uphold welfare principles, which underpinned the implementation of protective measures for Ghanaian children espoused in the Juvenile Justice Act.

She said completion of the court complex would serve as a one-stop point for all individuals seeking justice in the juvenile and family courts.

Mrs Justice Barbara Ackah-Ayensu, President of Ghana Chapter of IAWJ, said the main objective of the programme was to promote greater understanding and better resolution of legal issues facing women and children in the country.

She said the group aims to enhance the understanding of broad range of social, economic, psychological and cultural factors that impacted on women affected by the court system.

Mrs Ackah-Ayensu said, one way of advancing women’s rights was by providing avenues and means for them to access justice.

She said the Ghana Chapter of IAWJ would provide a congenial environment especially for mothers who attend court with their children.**