Any constitutional review must strengthen governance-Fiadjoe

Accra, Oct. 11, GNA - The review of Ghana's constitution must go beyond the mere altering of text to developing sustainable governance structures on the ground, Dr. Albert K. Fiadjoe, Professor Emeritus of Public Law has said in Accra.

He said the amendment to the constitution must encompass a study of how to build governance structures through institutional strengthening mechanisms and the establishment of benchmarks for performance. The Professor was speaking at an inaugural lecture of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences on the topic: "The Public Law of Ghana -A Tale of Two Legal Systems". "This could be done by developing constitutional conventions which would represent the customary norms and practices that keep the constitution current and relevant even with the changing times." Besides, he said, the Supreme Court must develop a regime of constitutional interpretation as an alternative to constant amendments to the constitution. He said a critical assessment of the 1992 constitution showed that while constitutional structures of government were fully in place; governance structures were still not developed. Prof. Fiadjoe said the dissonance between constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights and the practical considerations for enforcement on the ground was an ample demonstration of the lack of governance structures. "There is a great deal of dissonance between the lofty ideals of the Constitution, the law in practice and the lived reality of our lives," he said.

For example, freedom from arbitrary arrest can only be meaningful in the context of a well-trained and disciplined police force. In the field of politics, we still do not have an Integrity Commission to act as a check on the exercise of political power. We still maintain colonial laws on state secrecy, and we have not had the courage to enact a freedom of Information legislation.

"Our public service is consumed with the remnants of General Orders from the colonial era that are for most part unresponsive to modern demands. Our law of defamation is in discord with the high ideal for open governance, espoused by the constitution."

Touching on the justice system, Prof. Fiadjoe said the legal system was not only inaccessible to the poor but it is becoming increasingly out of reach for the large majority of the citizens. He said in its current form, the legal system had failed to address properly the myriad of problems which confront the ordinary person daily. Prof. Fiadjoe called for urgent reforms of the legal system and made a plea for Alternative Dispute Resolution as a national primary tool since it promoted fairness, speed, informality, flexibility of outcomes and lower cost. Other gains are deepening access to justice for the citizen, boosting investor confidence in the transparency of the legal system, helping with the early resolution of conflicts, freeing up the courts from the backlog and delays which attend the trial process and sowing the seeds of peaceful conflict resolution as a national ethic.