Justice George Kingsley Koomson
A Supreme Court nominee, Justice George Kingsley Koomson, has said the integrity and independence of the judiciary remain intact, dismissing assertions that politicians continue to manipulate it.
“The fact is that in this country, politicians will come and go. So for how long are we going to sit down for the judiciary to be accused that politicians are manipulating it,” he stated during his vetting by members of the Appointment Committee of Parliament on Tuesday.
He added, “Personally, I do not see any manipulation anywhere. If evidence is shown to me, then I can change my thoughts about that.”
Justice Koomson asserted that the judiciary’s dependence on the executive to fund its activities should not be construed as manipulation, explaining, “In this country, the Consolidated Fund is where most of our funds come from.”
“In so far as the Consolidated Fund is in the hands of the executive, we will forever be dependent on the executive for our funding, both the legislature and the judiciary. We have to do it because there is no way Parliament will allow the judiciary to keep all the revenues that we make so as to fund ourselves,” he argued.
Justice Koomson said until Parliament passes a law to allow the judiciary to 100% keep its fund, it is impossible for it to achieve the autonomy that is being dreamt about by all.
“There are times certain allowances will delay as much as 10 months and I believe, if we can put in place measures to ensure that funds released to the Judicial Service to run the organisation are done on time, I will be happy,” he posited.
By Ernest Kofi Adu