Judges commended for their commitment to rule of law

The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, on Monday praised judges for their commitment to the rule of law and the effective electoral justice system that is crucial to political stability and democratic governance.

“The judiciary plays an important role in elections in ensuring the legitimacy of the entire electoral process at every stage, whether at the per-electoral, electoral or the post electoral stages”.

Chief Justice Wood made the commendation at training on election adjudication process, for selected justices of the high court and circuit court in Ghana.

The training seeks to prepare the judiciary for Election 2012 and how to use the “Manual on Elections Adjudication in Ghana,” a book which was launched last month to help in the effective handling and disposal of election related disputes.

Sponsored by the Department for International Development (DFID), the training would discuss the electoral laws of Ghana with focus on the revised manual on elections in Ghana.

Chief Justice Wood said: “electoral justice is not limited to only polling day activities but actual voting and its other related activities such as counting and pre- election activities.”

She said electoral justice covered the entire range of activities for ensuring that all actions, procedures and decisions related to the electoral process conformed to the law of the land; the 1992 Constitution, statute law, international instruments and treaties to which Ghana was bound.

Chief Justice Wood said the hallmark of any credible justice system was the timeliness with which criminal complaints and disputes were disposed off and judgments and decisions fully enforced.

She reminded judges of their constitutional duty to dispose off electoral cases expeditiously to avoid the accompanying mistrust and suspicion that went with delayed justice.

Chief Justice Wood asked judges to assert their independence and be guided only by the evidence tendered before them and the applicable constitutional, statutory and decisional laws of the land and facts.

She said: “Electoral justice is thus the medium for preserving, protecting and defending and enjoying electoral rights. It offers opportunity, to aggrieved persons, those who believe their electoral rights have been compromised or violated in one way or the other to file complaints-criminal or civil and obtain a fair, just and expeditious adjudication".

Mr. Justice Jones Victor Dotse, a Supreme Court Judge, advised judges to be guided by the comments they made.