Your posture endangers rule of law – Sosu tells Dame

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Madina, Francis Xavier Sosu, has advised the Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame to distance himself from the Judiciary.

According to the MP, recent utterances by the Attorney General expose him and sends a wrong signal on the independence that should exist between the Ministry of Justice and the Judiciary.

“Rule of Law is seriously endangered under this administration and unfortunately the posturing and public statements of the Attorney General who is the Principal Legal advisor to Government only feeds into the perceptions that the AG is in bed with the Judiciary."

“Let me advise the AG to stay away from the Judiciary. Judicial power and administration of Justice must be independent and impartial and definitely not subject to the public advise of the AG,” Mr. Sosu disclosed in an open letter to the Attorney General.

Below is the full statement from the Madina MP:

Rule of Law is seriously endangered under this administration and unfortunately the posturing and public statements of the Attorney General who is the Principal Legal advisor to Government only feeds into the perceptions that the AG is in bed with the Judiciary.

Let me advise the AG to stay away from the Judiciary. Judicial power and administration of Justice must be independent and impartial and definitely not subject to the public advise of the AG.

Justice emanates from the people and the people have fundamental rights under the 1992 Constitutional to hold the Judiciary accountable through mainstream media and social media which ever may be applicable. The people do that through strict scrutiny of judgments and actions of the Judiciary. As such, every lawyer owes a duty to the Constitution of Ghana to be loyal to the Constitution and RULE OF LAW.

LAWYERS MUST DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION AND RULE OF LAW AND NOT THE JUDICIARY. Our Loyalty as Lawyers must be to the Rule of Law. There are ways the Courts deal with matters and persons whose actions are scandalous of the courts but an action which is scandalous of the Courts are matters of fact and not of mere expression of partisan views and positions on the Judiciary.

For us to have effective Justice and confidence in the justice system, we must rather be advising all Institutions of State particularly institutions of Justice such as The Ghana Police Service, Attorney General and Ministry of Justice and the Judiciary to assert and reaffirm their constitutional independence not only in words but also in actions.

As Deputy Ranking Member of the Constitutional Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament, I am more convinced that we must fast track the decoupling of the Office of Attorney General and Ministry of Justice. While this will not necessarily completely remove the tendency of collusions, it will be the most reasonably probable way of reducing such duplicity.

No Lawyer must be afraid of these threats. Fear not if you are a true Apostle of the Rule of Law. Persevere with Justice For All; Injustice to None.