The Chief Justice, Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, has appealed to professionals in the justice system to go by the ethics of the profession to build public confidence in the judiciary.
“Without a strong consciousness of the constitutionally and internationally mandated ethics that the Judiciary and Judicial Service are required to deploy in our work – independence, integrity, propriety, competence, diligence, avoidance of conflict, avoidance of politics, equality and impartiality – our work will definitely lack the required quality, no matter how many decisions we churn out,” she stated.
Speaking at a church service at the weekend to mark the opening of the 66th Legal Year, Justice Torkornoo, appealed to stakeholders to help her to “Deepen the nexus between Law, Ethics, Assets and Due process and the quality of justice delivery.”
“It is my fervent desire and commitment that as we do so, the wheels of justice will stop grinding slowly, and begin to grind efficiently, effectively and with increasing finality, so that court users will appreciate the role of the courts in the stability, wealth creation, and security of the nation,” the Chief Justice stated.
The theme for the 2023-2024 Legal Year was ‘Building the Pillars of Justice.”
She said the theme had been chosen to draw all stakeholders into engagement with those four elements in justice delivery, in order to enhance the quality of work done in the courts.
The Chief Justice said the pillars of justice such as ‘law, ethics, assets and due process,’ would be the focus of the judiciary in the 2023-2024 legal year.
She said justice was founded on law and without law, there could be no inference of justice.
“As we focus on building the pillars of law, ethics and due process, increased attention will be given to consistent training and capacity building for all staff, and strategic regulatory interventions with external support service providers,” the Chief Justice stated.
She emphasised that “For the citizenry, there will be a focus on demystifying the work of courts, to increase integrity and accountability of the court system to those that we are required to serve.”
She said in the just-ended legal vacation, the virtual hearing of cases in selected courts resumed, to the appreciation of all stakeholders.
The Chief Justice said the difficulty now was how to sustain and expand the level of convenience made possible by technology.
“Mobilising for assets such as continued computerisation and automation of courts, the digitisation of court documents and processes and documents is the only highway to achieving efficiency in justice delivery,” she said, adding that “My commitment is to strongly engage with all stakeholders to achieve this objective.”
BY TIMES REPORTER
