Chief Justice (CJ) Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo is fighting for financial independence of the third arm of government.
According to her, the financial independence of the judiciary is enshrined in the 1992 Constitution, yet they have no control over their finances and always have to get clearance before engaging their staff, assess money generated from court services, as well as to procure any asset to do their work.
“If the financial independence of the Judiciary is conferred and demanded by the 1992 Constitution, why are the Judicial Service of Ghana and the Judiciary subjected to such great constraints in its financial administration?” she lamented.
The Chief Justice was speaking at the 42nd annual conference of the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana (AMJG) held under the theme: “A financial independent and accountable judiciary: The key effect of justice delivery,” in Accra, yesterday.
She said the conversation about the financial independence of the judiciary is not new and it started from the era of her predecessors – Chief Justice George Kingsley Acquah, Chief Justice Theodora Wood, Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo and Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah.
While the subject of financial independence of the judiciary had been lingering on for years, she was dumfounded when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, while addressing the BAR conference, elaborately mentioned how his administration had increased funding and financial support in 100 fold for institutions set up to combat corruption, but not the judiciary.
“I felt like a very poor Cousin Cinderella by the end of the narrative. Because while funding for certain institutions had been increased in hundreds of percentages, the percentage increase for the Judiciary was noted to be a little over 3%.
“Clearly, the Judiciary as an institution needs to become more assertive, regarding this issue of financial independence and compel a narrative of justification as to why the Judiciary needs to be much better resourced than it has been, and why the level of financial support for our work ought to increase exponentially, not only in quantum, but also in scope,” she said.
Chief Justice Mrs. Torkornoo commented on compromises that the judicial service staff unions have to make to serve the public in the face of facts of economic conditions, despite their legitimate reasons to take adverse actions.
She further stated that reforms such as digitalisation and technology infrastructure development of the Service are all subjected to financial independence of the judiciary.
In order to improve adjudication of cases in the country, Her Ladyship Justice Torkornoo directed that dates should be allocated to cases that are ready to be heard.
This, she said, was to avoid unnecessary delays on the part of the parties, which are often blamed on the judges.
“This exercise of ensuring that cases are fixed for hearing on dates that are supported by the Rules of Court will be continued in all courts to protect Judges and court users from disruptive and unproductive adjournments, while compelling lawyers and parties to pay attention to the directions of time in the rules of court,” she said.
Similarly, the CJ urged the judges and magistrates to be considerate in the delivery of their rulings in order not to worsen a precarious situation, saying “our judgments and orders must be formulated in a manner that discourages escalation of social ill. By balancing tenets of law, procedural integrity and a keen awareness of social contexts, we can contribute to the strength, investment climate, and security of the communities we serve.”
Minister for Justice and Attorney General
Godfred Yeboah Dame, Minister for Justice and Attorney General, on his part, stated that the court was not a mercy chamber to serve justice based on sympathy or affection.
He advised that people must be prepared to accept it when rulings adverse to their interests are given by the courts and not go on a rampage attacking the courts or releasing press statements to criticise those decisions.
“I will only urge the Judiciary to ensure that their processes are devoid of undue delays and inefficiencies, for a robust legal system, underpinned by the rule of law, goes hand in hand with economic prosperity, bolsters the confidence of the people and deters the perpetration of wrongdoing,” he stressed.
On the financial independence of the judiciary, the minister asserted that Chapter Eleven of the Constitution is designed to achieve a fully financially independent and accountable judiciary, but its implementation is challenged by circumstances of middle-income economy and other constrains.
Retention of non-tax revenue
Samuel Afotey Otu, President of Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) proposed an increase in the retention of the non-tax revenue from 30% to 70% to enable the Service settle the arrears of the allowances due Judges, Magistrates and staff.
He said increase in the retention of the non-tax revenue would shoot up the Internal Generated Fund (IGF) of the Judiciary to meet its financial obligations.
