Friday, October 05, 2007

Speed up trial of criminal cases to halt instnat justice

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday October 5, 2007
The only way to curb the menace of instant justice is for judges and magistrates as well as other stakeholders to ensure expeditious trial of criminal cases.

“To us, one prime concern is the perceived loss of public confidence in the justice delivery system which is making the public to resort to instant justice. Our call is for members to deal with matters before them expeditiously in order to discourage the public from such acts,” says Justice J.B. Akamba, President of the Association of Magistrates and Judges, Ghana (AMJG).

He was speaking yesterday at the association’s Annual General Meeting under the theme “Access to justice – Strengthening judicial integrity and capacity.”

Justice Akamba said, “The bar, the Police and the prosecution, all have a duty to work together for the efficient and speedy handling of criminal cases in particular to save us all from the embarrassment we are beginning to witness in our dear country.”

“We also need to have a critical look at our Criminal Procedure Code with a view to dispose of archaic procedures,” he added.

Justice Akamba, who is also a Court of Appeal Judge, further said, “remanding every suspect without time limits has never solved the problem else the tribunals would have been heroes today. We are in a constitutional dispensation which sets limits for holding suspects.”

He called on the media and other stakeholders to lead a crusade against instant justice and appealed to the public to exercise restraint for justice to take its own course.

Justice Akamba also called on the government to, as a matter of urgency, look critically at the service conditions of judges and magistrates which he described as “not the best.”

The Chief Justice, Mrs. Georgina Wood, in a keynote address, said as part of efforts to decongest the country’s prisons, accused persons will now be remanded only when the law makes the offence committed mandatory.

“Our prisons are over crowded and we may have either wittingly or unwittingly contributed to the situation,” she said.

She urged judges and magistrates to continue to press for high ethical standards and integrity and said that the introduction of judicial case management which also covers Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) was carefully being pursued.

Justice Wood said the Judicial Service will position its training institute to be able to build the capacities of judges and magistrates to ensure efficiency.

She assured that the judiciary would pursue policies that would sustain public interest in the justice delivery system besides seeking the welfare of all staff as well.

Justice Wood paid tribute to her immediate successor, the late Justice George Kingsley Acquah, and said “I will continue with his good vision and ensure that the judiciary lives up to its responsibilities.”

Justice Sophia O. Adinyirah, a Supreme Court Judge, who chaired the meeting said, “we as the custodians and enforcers of the constitution need to constantly remind ourselves that the achievement of the concept of access of justice depends heavily on us in the way and manner we administer justice.”

She said although the staff of the service worked under constrained conditions, they must continue to dedicate themselves “to build a truly independent, competent, efficient and effective judicial system.”

Fourteen judges and magistrates including Justice Dr. Seth Twum of the Supreme Court, retired from the service this year.

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