Utilise legal system to avoid child rights violation - Appeals Court judge admonishes police

An Appeal Court judge, Justice Dennis Adjei, has urged the police to make use of the legal aid system to avoid violating the rights of children who find themselves in conflict with the law.

According to him, juveniles were usually stripped of their rights because they were not given legal representation in court.

He said such acts were in violation of the Children’s Act, 1998 (Act 560), which sought to protect the rights of children.

Justice Adjei made the call at a day’s training programme for personnel of the Ghana Police Service yesterday.

The training was organised by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), a human rights-based organisation.

The programme was on the theme: “The role of security agencies in protecting the rights of children”, and was aimed at bridging the gap between legislation and practice in Ghana’s justice for children.

“Every juvenile is entitled to legal aid. The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) made a resolution about this 10 years ago directing all lawyers to take pro-bono cases.

If a juvenile does not have legal representation, contact the GBA and a lawyer would be made available to that child. Make use of them to avoid violating the child’s right.

Speak on behalf of children,” he urged them.

Be abreast

Justice Adjei also urged the police to be abreast of the law regarding children and be mindful of Article 28 of the 1992 Constitution and Section 2 of the Children’s
Act, which highlights that the best interest of a child should be a primary consideration by a court, person or institution, in a matter involving a child.

“For instance, a child less than 12 years who commits a crime such as murder cannot be prosecuted because he or she does not have the capacity to commit a criminal offence,” he said.

Justice Adjei also noted that the police were obliged to uphold children’s rights during interviewing, arrests and interactions.

He stated, for instance, that although many police stations did not have cells for juveniles, it was not an excuse for them to be put together with adults.

“Everything should be in the paramount interest of the child. Even if he says he wants fried rice, you have to provide it. That’s what the law says,” he added.

He further urged the authorities to make provision for juveniles in the construction of police stations.

Settlement

Justice Adjei also explained that with matters such as child welfare, police officers must recognise the importance of cohesion and harmony between the family and the community.

He, therefore, urged them to involve or consult stakeholders who mattered in such cases.

“When reports are made, take steps to investigate them and where settlements are allowed, especially when the family is involved, settle them. Also, involve the community, the queenmothers, chiefs, elders, pastors, Imams and fetish priests,” he said.

Nonetheless, he said such moves should be done in the best interest of the child.

Training programme

The Executive Director of LRC, Ms Daphne Lariba Nabila, said the programme had become necessary because over the years some provisions of the law which protect the rights of children who were in conflict with the law were not adhered to.

She said there was, therefore, the need for policy and legislative reforms, as well as enhanced service delivery to ensure that such children were adequately protected.

She noted that her outfit would subsequently make inputs into the Children’s Act which was currently being reviewed.