Don’t give judgment without reason – President advises judges

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged judges, especially Supreme Court Judges, to avoid the practice of giving court judgments without any reasons, or reference to any authority.

The President said it was critical for judges to possess a sound knowledge of the law to enable them give good judgments, rulings, and orders backed by law.

“Judges, more so Justices of the Supreme Court, must be learned, know their case law, and ensure that their decisions and judgments are properly motivated.”

“The situation where Supreme Court Judges prefer judgments based on the judgements and decisions from Lower Courts and cite them as law is not acceptable and even less so, when judges cite even no authority at all for their rulings and give orders without reasons,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo said this when he swore in Justice Mariama Owusu, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, and Justice Avril Lovelace Johnson, three female Court of Appeal Judges to the Supreme Court, in addition to 11 new Appeal Court Judges and 34 High Court Judges at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday.

The three Supreme Court Judges were appointed to replace Justice Vida Akoto Bamfo who retired in February, Justice Sophia Adinyira who retired in September, and Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, who is due to retire in the next two days.

They were appointed by the President, acting on the advice of the Judicial Council, and in consultation with the Council of State and with the approval of Parliament, pursuant to Article 144 (2) of the Constitution.

All three Justices have met the requirements of Article 128 (4) of the Constitution which demands that “a person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Justice of the Supreme Court unless he is of high moral character and proven integrity and is of not less than 15 years’ standing as a lawyer”.

President Akufo-Addo said the new Supreme Court Judges were deemed to have the independence of spirit, proven integrity, high moral character and impartiality of mind to hold the high office, adding, “their appointment is well deserved and merited”.

He pointed out that the Supreme Court had, since 1966, developed a positive reputation for the quality of its Constitutional jurisprudence, adding, “I am hopeful that you (referring to the three Justices), who have already had good experience of high judicial office in the Court of Appeal, will help strengthen the development of our nation’s Constitutional and other jurisprudence at the Supreme Court.”

The President noted that the Constitution of the Fourth Republic had decreed that the Judiciary had jurisdiction in all matters of the breach of the law, civil and criminal, including matters relating to the interpretation and enforcement of the constitution.

He said the Judiciary also had onerous responsibilities to protect individual liberties and fundamental rights of citizens, to act as arbiter in disputes between the state and citizens, and to act as arbiter in disputes between citizens.

He said the Supreme Court was central to the execution of the function of the Judiciary, noting that, as a result, the Court was not bound to follow the decisions of any other court including its own and “shall have all the power and authority and jurisdiction vested in any Court established by the Constitution and any other law.”

President Akufo-Addo entreated the new Supreme Court Judges to ensure the strict application of the laws of the land and the words of the Judicial Oath without fear or favour, affection or ill-will and without recourse to the political, religious and ethnic affiliation of any citizen of the land.

“When any one falls foul of the law, the society expects that person would be dealt with accordingly and the law enforcement agencies must ensure this is done. That is the true meaning of the concept of equality before the law. The judiciary plays a central role in law enforcement with the Supreme Court as the apex court,” he said.

To the High Court Judges, he said “you are the first rung of the ladder of the Superior Court of Judicature, the Court of first instance, with original jurisdiction in all matters, and with express power in Article 140(2) “to enforce the fundamental human rights and freedoms guaranteed by this Constitution.”

“If you discharge your functions effectively, most judicial proceedings will end at your doorsteps, and, thereby, accelerate the process of judicial administration, for, in the well-known maxim of Roman law, “it is to the interest of the state that there be a limit to litigation,” sic “Interest Reipublicae Ut Sit Finis Litium.”

The President entreated the Court of Appeal Judges to conduct them “even though our judicial system comports a two-tier appellate court, the overwhelming majority of appeals terminate at the Court. The apex court, the Supreme Court, the court of last resort, should be seized in its appellate jurisdiction rarely if the Court of Appeal is satisfactory in its output.”

Reminding them of the exposè on judicial corruption undertaken by the well-known investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, President Akufo-Addo stated that “the people of Ghana cannot, and will not tolerate the repetition of the abysmal, dismal tale of acts of corruption that were revealed. You have a big duty to demonstrate integrity in all your dealings, if public support in the Judiciary is to be maintained.”