Supreme Court nominee, Justice Anthony Henry Cofie, has played down suggestions for the promulgation of a law that regulates contempt of court.
According to him, the current law which empowers judges to deal with contempt, was adequate in dealing with threats and abuse of the judiciary.
Appearing before the Appointment Committee of Parliament in Accra yesterday, he described the current power to deal with contempt as a “crucial tool” that protects the judiciary.
He was responding to a question by the Member of Parliament (MP) of Madina, Francis Xavier Sosu, on the need to regulate how judges handle contempt cases.
In the MP’s view, the law empowering judges to deal with contempt of court has potential impact on freedom of speech and expression.
Justice Cofie, who disagreed with a proposal to legislate a law regulating contempt of court, said contempt cases were not frequent to require a law.
“I don’t think that there should be a law as we have now in the UK on contempt. In all honesty, how many contempt cases come before the court across the country in a year? They are very few.”
For the number of years that I have sat as a judge, I don’t even know the number of times I have convicted somebody of contempt,” he stated.
Justice Cofie further cautioned the public to exercise circumspection and control their emotions when discussing matters related to the judiciary to avoid potential legal consequences.
“I want to caution individuals to exercise circumspection and control their emotions when discussing matters related to the judiciary to avoid potential legal consequences,” he noted.
Dismissing claims of political bias within the judiciary, Justice Cofie said there was no politically affiliated judges in the country, adding that judges were honest and “good people” who gave rulings based on the law and the evidence adduced.
Although the judiciary had some “bad nuts” as a human institution, he said, appropriate structures were in place to deal with errant Judges.
“As far as I know, there are no political judges, and as a result, there are no politically motivated judgments within the judiciary,” Justice Cofie added.
He rejected claims that the judiciary was plagued with corrupt practices saying that the perceptions of corruption in the judiciary was “unfounded.”
He said accusations of corruption was mainly made by individuals who were dissatisfied with court decisions or when misconceptions arise from specific incidents.
The accusations, Justice Cofie said, had festered because judges were not able to hold press conferences to clarify their positions saying that “because rulings are misunderstood, they resort to accusing judges as corrupt.”
To ensure professionalism, he said, judges receive training on ethical matters and corruption prevention annually.
In November this year, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo nominated three Court of Appeal Justices including Justice Henry Anthony Cofie, Justice Yaw Asare Darko and Justice Richard Agyei Frimpong, to fill vacancies on the Supreme Court bench.
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS