Promotion of judges very transparent - High Court judge

An Accra High Court Judge, Justice Kyei Baffour, has stated that the judicial process in promoting judges to a higher court is very transparent.

Ghana’s judiciary has in recent weeks received a lot of public bashing due to corruption allegations by undercover journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas.

Some 34 judges and magistrates and over 140 judicial staff were caught on video taking bribes to influence cases before their courts.

Following the judicial corruption scandal, a section of the public have questioned the process used in promoting judges, calling for it to be more transparent and open.

But speaking on Morning Starr on Friday, Justice Kyei Baffour said promotion of judges in Ghana is very transparent and not left to the discretion of the Chief Justice.

“There is a transparent basis for promotion to a higher court and not necessarily left to the discretion of the Chief Justice and the Judicial Counsel,” Justice Kyei Baffour told host Nii Arday Clegg on Starr 103.5FM.

He added: “before the promotions are done, usually there is a list that is brought by the Ghana Bar Association, the Judges and Magistrates Association and various bodies as to the person they think is qualified for the promotion.

“So it is not a matter of how many years you have stayed at the High Court that qualifies you to the next level, but first your performance in terms of the quality of judgments you have delivered and the opinion that even lawyers have about that particular judge…so it is not the number of years”.