Chief Justice leaves for South Africa

Accra, July 5, GNA - The Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina T. Wood, leaves Accra on Tuesday night for Johannesburg, South Africa, to participate in an international conference on Access to Justice.

A statement issued in Accra by Mrs Grace A. Tagoe, Director of Communications of the Judiciary, said it was at the invitation of her South African counterpart, Justice S. Sandile Ngcobo.

The conference on the theme: 93Towards Delivering Accessible and Quality Justice for All", aims at examining access to justice and in particular identify the challenges facing the people of South Africa as they seek justice in the courts and reflect on how to manage these challenges.

South African President Jacob Zuma, will deliver the keynote address at the conference.

Chief Justice Wood is among a number of Chief Justices, Judges, international legal experts and policymakers from around the world who have been invited by the South African Judiciary in conjunction with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development to provide a wide range of views and comparative perspectives to the issues to be discussed.

The statement said Mrs Justice Wood would speak to the topic: "Judicial Independence and Sustaining the Confidence of the Public in the Judiciary".

Other international speakers are; Justice Berverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada, Chan Sek Keong, Chief Justice of Singapore, Robert French, Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia and Justice Maruping Dibotelo, Chief Justice of Botswana.

Speakers drawn locally from South Africa include senior members of the South African Executive and Legislature, Ambassadors, Directors of Non-Governmental Organisations, traditional leaders, the media and selected stakeholders.

Other issues to be explored at the conference include: the relationship between judicial independence and public confidence in the judiciary; improving access to courts and the efficiency of judicial administration and alternative dispute resolution and restorative justice.

The rest are developing regulatory frameworks for the judiciary and judicial ethics; the role of the media in making justice accessible; and tackling practical issues of access to courts: location, court services, personnel and information technology.