Chief Justice signs judicial anti-corruption compact agreement

Chief Justice, Georgina Theodora Wood has signed the Judicial Anti-Corruption Compact agreement with the International Bar Association here in Accra.

This means Ghana has adopted the International Bar Association system of fighting corruption. The Chief Justice noted the move is aimed at mobilizing an army of anti-corruption crusaders in the judicial service across the globe.

The bar associations, lawyers, judges, prosecutors and stakeholders in the judicial service who are signatories to the agreement are publicly pledging their commitment to fighting judicial corruption.

President of the International Bar Association, David Rivkin, who signed on behalf of the IBA, maintains that unless judicial corruption is eliminated, it will be difficult to eliminate corruption in its entirety in all aspects of governance.

When there is corruption in the judiciary, it involves lawyers, prosecutors, judges, he said emphasizing the need to have a particular responsibility to work on judicial integrity.

“It is also important to work on judicial corruption not only so that the public has a sense of the fairness of the process and the integrity of the judicial process but also because unless judicial corruption is eliminated, it is impossible to eliminate corruption in order aspects of the governance systems and structures,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Georgina Wood hoped that the agreement will not be a mere ceremony but will form an integral part of the justice system.