A former Director of the Ghana School of Law, Kwaku Ansa-Asare has said there is a need for Ghana’s judiciary to regain public trust by ensuring it remains free from political interference.
According to him, the judicial service must remain loyal only to the Constitution.
His comment comes after an Afrobarometer report indicated that there has been a decline of trust in the Electoral Commission (EC), courts, and the police.
The data, collected from 1999 to 2022, reveals a concerning decline in public confidence in these crucial institutions.
“When Arku Korsah was sacked by Nkrumah for being disloyal to him, he reminded him that his loyalty is to the constitution and not to the president of the republic. He was replaced by Sarkodie. Nkrumah wanted Sarkodie to do his bidding, but he said, Mr President, I am sorry. My loyalty is to the constitution.”
He stated that loyalty should be the hallmark of the judiciary, including the Chief Justice, who, as per Article 125(4), leads an independent branch of government separate from the executive.
“She is head of a separate branch of government. We have seen the Chief Justice dancing with the executive arm of government. The people’s confidence will be eroded. I have seen pictures where the justices of the superior court are arm in arm with the president dancing.”
“People will say if I go to court against the government, what happens? We have lost even before one might have started a process.”
Mr Ansa-Asare stated the judiciary’s budget should be submitted directly to parliament without interference from the executive or any other government entity.
“The Chief Justice must submit the estimate of the judiciary to parliament. It shouldn’t go through any young officer’s desk or the presidency or the Ministry of Finance to reduce it. When they do that, it is the executive who is calling the shot. It contravenes the black and white written in the constitution.”
“Independence of the judiciary includes independence of their financial administrative duties. We must ensure that the judiciary is resourced from the consolidated fund not from the Ministry of Finance. It should go to parliament. Let parliament not tinker with it. So once the Chief Justice submits the estimate, no one, neither the president nor parliament must tinker with it,” he said.
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