Book on law of evidence launched in Accra
A new book, The Essentials of the Ghana Law of Evidence, which offers an insight into the ingredients of evidence in Ghana’s legal system, has been launched in Accra.
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The 622-page book, authored by a retired Supreme Court Judge, Mr Justice Stephen Alan Brobbey, walks its reader through the types, scope and sources of evidence.
The book handles topics including forensic, computer and scientific-related evidence.
It makes useful references to modern topics including video conferencing, DNA, profiling, closed circuit television (CCTV), lifestyle evidence, thumb-printing and other forensic evidence.
It also covers areas such as proof in civil and criminal proceedings, objections and exclusion of evidence and circumstantial evidence.
The book provides building blocks for modern methods of crime investigation and the extent to which they affect the law of evidence with reference to either digital or electronic evidence.
It also touches on the state of the law of confessions in Ghana and some controversial aspects of the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal.
Launching
Speaking at the event, Justice Brobbey, who spent 40 years of his career as a lawyer and a judge, said society was changing very fast, hence the administration of law had to keep abreast of the changes in society.
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Citing the examples of photoshop and voice editing technologies, he said “technology is here with us and our laws cannot run away from it.”
The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, who launched the book, commended Justice Brobbey for writing the book which, she observed, had added flesh to the theory and practice of the law of evidence in Ghana.
The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marrieta Brew Appiah-Oppong, was full of praise for the author of the book which she said had been carefully researched and written on peculiar nuances of Ghanaian law.
“We live in a digital era. Lawyers, judges and law students have to adapt or wither away,” she said.
Book Review
A legal practitioner, Mr Yoni Kulendi, who reviewed the book, said no textbook on the law of evidence in Ghana had treated the law of evidence as the author had done with modern law and trends.
The Chairman for the occasion and President of the Ghana Bar Association, Nene Amegatcher, while commending the author, urged legal practitioners to write books to advance knowledge in law practice in Ghana.