Justice Jones Victor Mawulorm Dotse
The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has paid a gratifying tribute to retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Jones Victor Mawulorm Dotse, describing him as “Judge’s Judge, a lawyer’s Judge, and a litigant’s Judge.”
According to him, the retired judge brought to the task of judging unmatched gentlemanliness, grace, caution, commitment and erudition and a great deal of empathy for the frailties of the human condition.
Justice Dotse, who was one of the names penciled for the position of Chief Justice in 2021, called time on his 21-year career as a judge, 15 of which was at the Supreme Court where he would be remembered as one of its finest Justices in recent times.
He retired yesterday as the Acting Chief Justice after attaining 70, the mandatory retirement age for Justices of the Supreme Court where both judges, lawyers and litigants respected and valued him for his fairness, integrity, immense appreciation of the law, sense of humour and compassion.
Justice (rtd) Dotse would be remembered for coining the term “create, loot and share” during the Agbesi Woyome case at the Supreme Court, a term now commonly used to portray corruption in Ghana.
Addressing a gathering of members of the legal fraternity, family and friends of Justice Dotse after his Valedictory Judgment at the Supreme Court last Tuesday, Mr. Dame described him as a judge with extreme sense of humanity, kindness and compassion in the adjudication of cases, attributes which qualifies for the accolade of “a Judge’s Judge, a lawyer’s Judge, and a litigant’s Judge all rolled into one”.
He described Justice Dotse as down to earth, unpretentious and even more impressive aside his abilities as a judge are his courtesy, simplicity and common touch outside court.
Mr. Dame added that it would be neglectful not to note that Justice Dotse was a visionary and that he manifested that trait in his valedictory judgment which called for proposals for a reform of Ghana’s civil and criminal procedures.
“My lord Justice Dotse, I have no doubt that posterity will look kindly back on your enormous contribution to justice delivery. Your virtues will not be cast into the shade. We will remember them,” he added.
Justice Dotse, who could not control his tears, thanked his family, friends, judges in general and his colleague Supreme Court judges as well as lawyers for contributing to his success in diverse ways over the years.
He also expressed gratitude to former President John Agyekum Kufuor for appointing him to the High Court in 2002, promoting him to the Court of Appeal in 2003, and then elevating him to the Supreme Court in 2008.
He said he may have retired but he would continue to contribute to the promotion of justice by working with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the country.
Justice Dotse also disclosed that he will be setting up a trust fund in his mother’s name to support girl-child education in the Volta Region, as well as build a nursery for the day care he attended in Kpando.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak