Thirteen High Court judges sworn in
Thirteen High Court judges were yesterday sworn into office at a ceremony at the Supreme Court in Accra.
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They were made up of eight promoted circuit court judges and five lawyers. They swore the judicial oath and the oath of secrecy administered by the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood.
At the event, the Judicial Secretary, Mr Justice Alex B. Poku-Acheampong, annouced that the Judicial Council had reviewed its policy regarding the recruitment of judges after the recent exposé on alleged corruption in the judiciary by investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
He said in line with the new policy, the council would have the names of all new judges published in the national newspapers before they were sworn in.
“This is to ensure that we get persons of integrity on the bench. The 13 judges have successfully gone through the rigorous recruitment process, including written examination, assessments, interviews by the appointment committee and background checks by the national security,’’ he said.
Integrity
A Supreme Court judge, Ms Justice Sophia Akuffo, in a keynote address, challenged the newly appointed judges to make integrity their bedrock.
She said integrity played a crucial role in determining whether a judge would be successful or not.
“If you lose your integrity, you have lost your independence. Without independence, you will. . . .make extra-judicial considerations on the bench. A judge is not a good judge if he or she cannot perform his job independently,’’ she pointed out.
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Justice Akuffo also urged the judges to adhere to their oath of secrecy.
She said some judges recently lost their jobs because they did not adhere to the oath of secrecy which barred them from revealing any aspect of a case before them to anybody.
“You are not supposed to directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person any matter that shall be brought to your consideration or shall come to your knowledge in the discharge of your official duties,’’ she told the high court judges.
Stay out of politics
The Deputy Attorney–General, Mr Dominic Ayeni, advised the judges to desist from making political statements, since such statements could make people lose confidence in them.
“As judges do well to avoid making extra-judicial or political statements, either while presiding over a case or outside the court room. One cannot always judge the certainty of public reactions to your statements and a judge cannot absolve himself or herself when the statement has generated public debate,’’ he said.
For his part, the Vice-President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Mr Tony Forson, urged the judges to constantly refresh their knowledge of the law.
That, he said, would help to make them firm and impartial in the discharge of their duties.
“It is only by being knowledgeable that you can exact and demand the respect of everybody,’’ he stated.