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Judge urges public to name and shame judges as proof of
corruption
Accra, Oct. 12, Ghanadot/GNA - An Appeals Court
Judge on Monday called for more public education to enable
people to come out publicly to officially lodge complaints of
bribery and corruption on the bench for better delivery of
justice.
Justice Benjamin Teiko Aryeetey told the Appointments Committee
of Parliament that although there had been perceptions and
allegations of corruption in the judiciary involving judges to
influence the outcome of cases before them, it had been a
challenge getting people to come forward to make formal
complaints.
"There have been allegations but complainants do not come
forward. People who say they know of a judge who is corrupt
should come forward."
Justice Aryeetey was responding to questions when he appeared
before the Appointments Committee of Parliament to be vetted. He
is one of three Court of Appeal Justices nominated to the
Supreme Court.
The other two are Justice Vida Akoto Bamfo and Justice Nasiru
Sulemana Gbadegbe. Should they sail through the parliamentary
vetting process, the Supreme Court would have 14 judges to
uphold justice at the highest level.
Justice Aryeetey, who has worked on the bench for some 38 years,
told the Committee that judges were doing their part to ensure
that perceptions about bribery and corruption on the bench were
done away with because they had a code of conduct to guide them
in the delivery of justice.
"The notion of getting rich through the bench doesn't work," he
said.
In response to a question on what he understands by "activism
judges" and their role in guiding the country's democracy, he
said it was not just a matter of interpreting the law but also
being pro-active in effecting changes in the judicial system as
and when the need arose.
"When the need arises you will need people who would take the
bull by the horns," he explained.
On a question of conflict of interest arising where members of
parliament were appointed to serve on boards of public
institutions, Justice Aryeetey said in such cases, the role and
position of such members would have to be determined on
case-by-case basis to see if there were grounds for conflict of
interest.
When asked to give his position on setting an upper limit to the
number of judges on the Supreme Court, Justice Aryeetey said as
the nation grew there might be the need for more judges but for
now 14 Supreme Court judges was an appropriate number.
In response to a question from Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, NPP Member
of Parliament for Abuakwa South, about the kind of serious work
that the nominee was bringing to the Supreme Court considering
that he had just two years to go on retirement, Justice Aryeetey
said he was qualified to be appointed.
On the huge number of remand cases, congestion at the prisons
and the need to decongest the prisons by allowing offenders to
undertake community service in place of prison custody, he said
these were matters that needed legislations to improve the
justice system.
GNA
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