Be concerned with more serious, fundamental problems within our justice system –AG tasks GBA
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Annual Bar Conference at Ho, Mr. Dame admitted that even though the Judiciary has its own problems, the Bar should be concerned about a number of challenges within the criminal justice system.
The Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame has called on the Ghana Bar to be more concerned with more serious and fundamental problems within the nation’s justice system.
He noted that in doing so, the Bar ought to unite in a common effort to project to the world a strong and clear message about the exceptional nature of Ghana’s Judiciary.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Annual Bar Conference at Ho, Mr. Dame admitted that even though the Judiciary has its own problems, the Bar should be concerned about a number of challenges within the criminal justice system.
Firstly, he touched on the situation in which our court system leaves accused persons to face state prosecutors with no, or no adequate representation describing the same as hardly satisfactory and thus called for the strengthening of legal aid.
Moreover, Mr. Dame bemoaned the situation where summary trials of criminal cases can last for more than four years which he described as a mitigating factor against the right to a fair trial and defeats the ends of justice.
The AG also touched on Ghana’s prison system which comprises overcrowded and understaffed seminaries of crime which to him is not a functioning system.
Additionally, Mr. Dame reminded lawyers of their three foremost commitments; independence, excellence, and to advocacy, and emphasized that these three tenets combined with the Bar’s high degree of versatility explain why the Bar has survived and will continue to survive.
Further to the above, he cautioned lawyers against allowing their reactions to adverse rulings given against them by the courts to traverse the bounds of ethical behavior.
Also, he said that in addition to his role of strengthening the criminal justice system, he will also strive to ensure the establishment of a viable, fair and expeditious system of commercial dispute resolution through the setting up of a Ghana Arbitration Centre as envisaged under the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, 2010 (Act 798).
