The Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie has called for a balance between judicial independence and accountability, stressing that independence should not be interpreted as freedom from responsibility.
Addressing magistrates and judges during their 45th Annual Conference in Accra on September 30, the Chief Justice said judicial officers must be supported and treated with dignity while being held to high standards of performance and discipline.
The conference is being held on the theme: “Balance Beyond the Bench – Harmonising Duty, Justice and Life.”
The Chief Justice said the welfare of judges and magistrates should be considered beyond the question of employment conditions, arguing that the wellbeing of judicial officers has implications for the administration of justice.
“The welfare of judges and magistrates is not merely an employment matter. It has implications for judicial independence, institutional integrity and the quality of justice,” he noted.
According to the Chief Justice, a judicial officer who is adequately supported, properly trained and treated with dignity is better positioned to discharge the responsibilities of the office.
He however, averred that institutional support must be accompanied by responsibility.
“We must demand good conditions, but we must also demand good performance,” Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie indicated.
“We must insist upon institutional support, but we must also insist upon institutional discipline.”
The Chief Justice said judicial officers must defend the independence of the Judiciary while remaining conscious of their obligation to the public.
“We must defend judicial independence, while remembering that independence is not freedom from accountability,”
He explained that the obligations should not be viewed as contradictory, describing them as part of the balance required for a credible Judiciary.
The Chief Justice also reminded judicial officers that their responsibilities extend beyond the institution to the people who depend on the courts for justice.
According to the Chief Justice, citizens do not encounter the Judiciary as an abstract institution but through individual judges, magistrates, courtrooms and decisions.
“The citizen does not encounter the Judiciary as an abstract institution. He encounters a particular judge, a particular magistrate, a particular courtroom and a particular decision.”
The Chief Justice consequently cautioned judicial officers against allowing the pursuit of personal balance to undermine their responsibilities to litigants.
“The litigant who has waited for years cannot be told that the case has been delayed because the judge is seeking balance,”
Paul Baffoe-Bonnie added that the needs of judicial officers and the needs of the public should instead reinforce each other.
“A Judiciary that cares for its judicial officers is better positioned to serve the public,” the Chief Justice said.
He also called on the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana to continue promoting both the welfare and professional standards of its members.
The Chief Justice said the Judiciary must strive to become efficient without becoming mechanical, demanding without becoming inhuman, modern without losing its soul, and rigorous without losing its sense of compassion.
By Laud Adu-Asare
