Judges must be custodians of legal accountability — Justice Tanko

A justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Amadu Tanko, has called on members of the bench to be custodians of legal accountability in the extractive industry.

He said they must be seen to be stewards of justice where the rights of communities, the state and private investors intersected.

"You have a calling not only to adjudicate disputes, but also safeguard the very substratum of national development, our land and mineral resources," Justice Tanko, added.

He was speaking at a two-day training on Land Act, 2020 (ACT 1936) and the Minerals and Mineral Act, 2006 (Act 703) for judges and magistrates drawn from the Western, Western North and Central regions in Takoradi yesterday.

It was organised by the Judicial Training Institute with sponsorship from the Ghana Chamber of Mines.

Timing

Justice Tanko, who is also the Director of the Judicial Training Institute, said the training had come at a time illegal mining activities, popularly known as galamsey, was threatening not just "our environment, but the very social and legal fabric of rural mining communities”.

Participants in the workshop in Takoradi

Justice Tanko said that the courts were increasingly confronted with cases involving conflicts between landowners and licensed mining companies, encroachment on mineral-rich lands, regulatory breaches and exploitative practices.

He, therefore, said it was imperative "we refresh ourselves with the statutory frameworks governing these issues not only to dispense justice, but to do so with clarity, competence and constitutionality".

Reminder

Justice Tanko reminded the participants that the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) remained the principal legal framework for regulating mineral resources in the country, and that the reforms as amended in 2019, 2015 and 2019, had largely focused on fiscal arrangements and administrative clarity.

He, however, said there was a growing consensus that environmental governance and sustainability should be adequately addressed.

Justice Tanko commended the Ghana Chamber of Mines for sponsoring the programme, and said it would go a long way to improve the adjudication of mining-related cases.

Appeal

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, urged the judiciary to be firm and support the chamber to fight illegal mining in the country.

He appealed to the bench to endeavour to expedite action on mining cases pending at the courts.