Uphold your neutrality - CJ tells prosecutors

Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood has cautioned prosecutors to be neutral in the discharge of their duties.

She averred that a prosecutor must be impartially, maintain integrity and desist from soliciting money, gifts and others from the offender, family or friends in the prosecution of a case.

According to her, strict, firm and expeditious prosecution is essential for the criminal justice system of the country.

A prosecutor is expected to be independent and must not allow ethnicity, friends, family or political considerations to sway him or her, the Chief Justice declared.

In a keynote address read on her behalf by Justice Clemence Honyewuga, a Court of Appeal Judge at the close of a three-month course organized by the Ghana School of Law for personnel of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) in Accra, she stressed that the prosecution of the cases must be in line with the law.

Justice Wood stated that a prosecutor must as well uphold the constitution of Ghana, adding that “a prosecutor must conduct himself or herself well all the time so as not to damage the reputation of the institution he or she serves.

“A good prosecutor must be well versed in the law and procedure of the area of law being dealt with; a wrong charge for an offence which does not support the facts of a case could lead to the discharge of the offender.

The Chief Justice pointed out that the prosecutor must assist the court to diligently and effectively prosecute the case as expeditiously as possible and must not take unnecessary adjournments to delay trials.

COP Dr. Peter A. Wiredu, Director of GIS), said for his outfit to effectively counter migrant smuggling and other forms of irregular migration, there is the need to provide officers with the prerequisite knowledge and skills to investigate and prosecute cases of such nature.

Prosecution, whether viewed in the context of common law adversarial system of law or civil law inquisitorial practices is key to the criminal justice equation, he observed.

James Agalga, Deputy Minister of Interior, urged the GIS officials to put the interest of the nation above any other considerations.

“For sure you are not going to make friends for prosecuting people, you are going to make enemies, but what I will say is that try and place the interest of Ghana above all other interests,” he noted.

“If you are able to do that, you will find prosecuting very interesting because at all times you will know you are acting in the interest and wellbeing of our beloved country.

Ten GIS participants, who were taken through topics like Criminal Law, Law of Evidence, and Criminal Prosecution, were presented with certificates.

The training programme, organized under the auspices of the GIS Thematic Programme on Migration and Asylum, funded by the European Union (EU), is expected to, among other things, curb human smuggling and other forms of irregular migration in the country.