14 New judges sworn in
Fourteen newly appointed Justices of the High Court have been sworn in with a call on them to seek the highest standards of integrity in their professional and personal lives.
The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, who made the call at the swearing-in ceremony in Accra yesterday, urged them to further broaden their knowledge of the law.
The justices are Nathaniel Kojo Ekwam Osam, Kwesi Boakye, Emmanuel Amo Yartey, John Bosco Nabarese, Gilbert Ayisi Addo and Barbara N. Tetteh-Charway.
The rest are Eric Kyei Baffour, Alexander Osei Tutu, Mrs Cecilia Donchebe Agbevey, Mrs Gifty Agyei Addo, Mrs Rebecca Naa Shormeh Sittie, Mrs Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, Doreen Genevieve Boakye-Agyei and Mr Constant Kwaku Hometowu.
Mrs Appiah-Opong said as judges they should write decisions that were sharp and logical, and which would stand scrutiny when litigants went on appeal.
She advised the justices to listen attentively in court and when necessary ask only questions that got to the root of the case before their court.
“Be courteous in the courtroom but firm when it is necessary to rein in a tedious lawyer, an ill-mannered litigant or a disorderly person who appears before you,” she advised.
Mrs Appiah-Opong further exhorted them to make courageous decisions without fear or favour ‘because justice is not a popularity contest.’
She, however, cautioned them that despite their independence, they were accountable for their actions and decisions.
The Chief Justice, Justice Georgina T. Wood, said as a central law enforcement branch of the government, their main task was to display fairness in justice delivery.
She appealed to the judges to let their appointment invoke in them a sense of pride and confidence that would help in building a good image for the judiciary.
She said although judges enjoyed judicial independence, that did not confer on the office holder a licence to behave as he or she pleased.
To the contrary, she said it placed an exacting demand on the judge to show good judgement in and out of the courtroom.
She said the Judicial Council would do everything possible to protect the institutional independence of the judiciary, adding that in the same vein, “we pledge also to support each one of you to uphold and preserve your decisional and or substantive independence”.
A former President of the Ghana Bar Association, Mr Sam Okudzeto, reminded the justices that every honour carried with it a responsibility and urged them to be guided in that direction.
He reminded them that as public officers they were public property and must be seen to be working to that effect.
The President of the Judges and Magistrates Association, Justice Sir Denis Adjei, advised the justices to live by their judicial oath if they wished to succeed as judges.
By Michael Donkor/Daily Graphic/Ghana
