Godfred Yeboah Dame
The Attorney General (AG) and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has called for a revision of the Supreme Court Rules to permit the dismissal of frivolous cases before it without the necessity of hearing them in open court.
According to him, the time has come for the apex court to reduce its caseload by prioritising the kinds of cases it actually hears, saying this will lead to efficiency in the productivity of the highest court of Ghana.
“I dare say that the time has come for the Supreme Court to reduce its caseload by prioritising the kind of cases it actually hears. The Rules of the Supreme Court should be revised to permit the ‘in chambers’ dismissal of frivolous applications and cases, which actually constitute the bulk of cases considered by the Supreme Court every year, without the necessity of a hearing in open court,” Mr. Dame said at the opening of the Bench, Bar, and Faculty Conference in Accra.
He said the Supreme Court should focus on “only important cases with the potential of resulting in a change of the law, or with immense public interest. This will lead to efficiency in the productivity of the highest court of our Republic.”
The Attorney General also called for the retention of the initiatives introduced during the height of COVID-19 pandemic, such as virtual delivery of justice, to enhance the administration of justice in a healthy environment.
“In my respectful view, most of the temporary innovations put in place, as a result of the pandemic, ought to be made a permanent feature of justice delivery. Virtual hearing of cases should become a regular feature of our court system. The superior courts should deliver more rulings virtually, as this reduces cost, saves time and boosts efficiency,” he stressed.
This, he said, will however require the cooperation of the bar, adding that “whilst change is inevitable, I must caution that its manifestation is peculiar to each environment, in much the same way as every human being in his or her own life effects a change only to suit the circumstances of his or her life.”
“The elements of change in America may not necessarily be the same as in Ghana, or South Korea. It becomes imperative, therefore, for adaptation to change in the legal profession to be regulated, so as to be consistent with the legitimate interests of the profession, as well as the requirements for the creation and sustenance of a just, fair, and truly democratic society,” Mr. Dame added.
The AG expressed concern about what he described as a systematic attempt by certain lawyers, often belonging to a side of the political divide, to deploy social media to denigrate the administration of justice through poisoned and caustic attacks on judgments of the courts, albeit unjustified.
“Such disreputable practice on the part of some lawyers further becomes an inducement to persons who are not members of the legal profession to launch even more savage and illogical attacks on the judiciary. This conduct is clearly despicable as it has the ultimate tendency to destroy the integrity of institutions of justice delivery in Ghana,” he bemoaned.
Mr. Dame further noted that the judiciary is the last line of defence in every democracy, adding that “the history of this country has shown that the judiciary is the only arm of government that survives an overthrow of the constitution. Its indispensability to our lives, therefore, goes without saying. Lawyers ought to be the loudest and strongest defenders of the independence, integrity, and importance of the judiciary, rather than serving as tools for its destruction.”
He, therefore, urged the bar to be mindful of the age-old requirements of the profession, in so far as ethics is concerned.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak