Purging the judiciary must begin with lawyers

Following the exposé by the investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas on the alleged corrupt practices of some judges, the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Theodora Wood, has pledged to rid the Judiciary of corrupt judges.

While we applaud the stance taken by the Chief Justice since the news of the alleged corrupt practices of over 100 staff of the Judicial Service broke, we believe that any attempt to rid the Judiciary of any corrupt elements must begin with the lawyers.

It is the lawyers who eventually become the District Court, High Court, Appeals Court and Supreme Court judges, therefore any attempt to streamline activities in the Judiciary that sidelines the very foundation and important role that lawyers play, would be a wasted effort.

We believe that first; a lot of importance needs to be attached to the educational and practical training of lawyers. They also need to imbibe the spirit of discipline right from the start, with regard to their code of ethics.

If these are done, there would be less room for compromises and yielding to temptations that would bring the name of the noble profession into disrepute.

It is not only judges who condone with court clerks to engage in corrupt practices in the courts. Some lawyers also try to influence the discharge of justice. Those acts impact negatively on the dispensing of justice to clients and, therefore, bring the whole justice system into disrepute.

We therefore urge that anyone who accepts to be trained as a lawyer is not only made aware of the temptations inherent in the vocation but made to swear an oath to abide by the rules of engagement – the ethics of the profession.

They should also be aware that should they go against the laid-down rules, they may lose their practising certificates and also be made to face the full rigours of the law for disgracing the profession.

The legal profession is a very vital institution which keeps the sanity of society in check. That is why everyone has the right to a lawyer and the courts when he or she feels cheated, wronged or robbed.

We need to make our courts attractive for everyone, no matter the social standing. That is why we do not have to compromise when it comes to the Judiciary or else if care is not taken, justice will always only be served to the highest bidder.

There are now several universities offering courses in law in the country with the ultimate aim of raising lawyers.

The Ghana Bar Association, General Legal Council, Judicial Council and other key stakeholders should therefore take the bull by the horn and ensure that the curricula of all institutions of law are streamlined to inculcate the values of integrity and honesty in those who rise to the Bench.

We also appeal to the Ghana School of Law to expand facilities to be able to admit more law graduates who will help in the administration of Justice.

Trainee lawyers should be given the right and adequate training on the value of the law to society, the ethics that must be upheld at all times and the requirement of selflessness that would enable them to defend the marginalised who may not be able to provide the required legal fees for their cases to be heard.

Yes we need to rid the Judiciary of people who would want to sell justice and we need to start from those who become the judges – the lawyers.