House of Chiefs needs permanent Judges for speedy cases – Supreme Court nominee

A nominee to Ghana’s Supreme Court, Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu has made a call for permanent Judges to be appointed to the House of Chiefs.

Having practiced before the Volta Regional House of Chiefs for years, he noted that this would better ensure speedy trials than the existing arrangement.

“The House of Chiefs has its own rules for practice before it but recently, they have adopted part of the High Court rule on witness statements.

I‘ve always had a feeling that a permanent judge may be appointed for the chiefs to sit around him. I think that will work and push the cases forward.”

Further to the above, he said that when the chiefs alone are sitting and one does not come, proceedings have to be halted or adjourned which delays cases before them.

Commenting on the need or otherwise for the death penalty, the nominee noted that pursuant to the UN resolutions for state parties to do away with the death penalty in their statutes, Ghana voted in support of the same.

However, when the Constitution 1992 was promulgated, the death penalty was retained and thus was not for the judiciary anymore to take a decision but for the political class to decide whether to remove or retain it.

Giving his own view on the above, he said as a judge sitting, if there is a death penalty to be imposed, he will do it however personally, he shares the view of those calling for its removal.

“As a judge sitting, if I try a case and there is a death penalty to be imposed, I will have no option. I will impose it. I share the views of those saying that people should not be murdered because there could be mistakes so I don’t believe personally in the death penalty.”