Her Ladyship, Justice Sophia A.B Akuffo, Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana has urged members of the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana (AMJG) to deliver quality justice, in accordance with the law without fear or favour.
She said an independent judiciary, which shall exercise final judicial authority as espoused in Article 125 of the Ghanaian Constitution, was a feature of democracy.
Her Ladyship, Justice Akuffo was speaking at the opening of the 2017 conference of the AMJG on the topic “Quality Justice and DEMOCRACY”.
She said that quality service provided by the justice system was possible only if the quality of the management of the different sectors of the judicial machinery was systematically improved in a co-ordinated manner.
The Chief Justice highlighted the financial independence of the Judiciary as provided for in Article 127 of the Constitution and the non-compliance by government to the provision of the Article. She furthermore explained that it had become necessary for the Judiciary to consider additional sources of funding.
One of the challenges that Her Ladyship, Justice Akuffo outlined was non-compliance to Local Government Act which places the responsibility of providing courtrooms and residential accommodation for Magistrates, on the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDA’s).
She said discussions had been initiated with the Administrator of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) to assist in the provision of decent courtrooms and residential accommodation for magistrates.
According to the Chief Justice, serious consideration had been given to the application of Solar Energy in the plans for new and refurbished court buildings throughout the country, right from district level, since the automation of courts nationwide required the availability of power to be functional.
She urged Judges to respect justice and deliver quality in order to increase confidence in the Judiciary and create a positive public perception. This, she explained will go a long way to avoid acts like mob justice, etc., which destabilise societies.
