Accept court decisions. Justice Dotse appeals to political parties
A justice of the Supreme Court, Mr Justice Jones Dotse, has urged political parties to accept the decisions of the courts on the electoral disputes that may arise from the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.
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“Let me use this platform to urge all the political actors in Ghana to accept the decisions of the courts on election dispute adjudication with a good heart, as was done by Nana Akufo-Addo in August 2013,” he said.
He, accordingly, urged Ghanaians to be decorous in the use of language, adding: “You may lose a case today and win another tomorrow. It is the same Judiciary that is constitutionally mandated to pronounce on all such disputes.”
“Let us, therefore, as a country, resolve to respect our institutions of state such as the Judiciary and the Electoral Commission (EC) and make reforms where necessary, so that as a people we can forge ahead in unity and improve upon the performance of our key constitutional institutions of state such as the Judiciary,” he added.
Delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the ninth Chief Justice’s Forum on the theme: “The Judiciary and Election 2016” in Accra yesterday, Mr Justice Dotse urged civil society and the public to defend the Judiciary when the need arises.
The call, he said, was hinged on the fact that the Judiciary in Ghana had come under attack from all the civilian and military regimes in Ghana.
“The attacks are more ferocious and intimidating when they come from the ruling party and/or its agents,” he said, adding: “Apart from the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and some of the orthodox churches, there has generally been stoic silence when the Judiciary is under siege from all manner of persons and institutions.”
Mr Justice Dotse stated that it was important to observe that for the Judiciary to continue to play “its key role in policing the 2016 elections, it must have not only the constitutional guarantees of security of tenure but also the enabling environment under which to work without any fear of intimidation”.
Bold judges
He said there was no doubt that judges in Ghana had become very bold, courageous, fearless and principled in their work.
He said he should not be misunderstood when he said the Judiciary should not be criticised in the performance of their work in election dispute adjudication and other cases, explaining that what he abhorred and frowned upon was the indecent and unbridled threats on judges and their families which sometimes bordered on criminality.
Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, Chief Justice, addressing the forum at the 9th Annual Chief Justice's Forum on the theme, "The Judiciary and Election 2016" in Accra. Picture: SAMUEL TEI ADANO
Free and fair elections
Mr Justice Dotse said Article 51 of the 1992 Constitution mandated the EC, as the body constitutionally charged to conduct elections in Ghana, to make constitutional instruments to regulate the effective performance of their work.
He said despite the existence of constitutional and legal frameworks which had guaranteed free and fair elections in Ghana since 1992, the 2012 presidential election dispute brought to the fore the realisation that “all has not been well with our electoral management laws, as well as rules of procedure for the Supreme Court”.
He said the third edition of a manual on election adjudication which consisted of all the relevant constitutional and legal frameworks for the conduct of presidential and parliamentary elections, as well as relevant case law, would soon be launched.
“The Judiciary, as part of its core mandate under the Constitution, will continue to determine electoral disputes fairly in accordance with existing laws by affording all parties equal opportunities to put forward their cases,” he said.
He reminded judges that they were accountable to the 1992 Constitution and the law which they must apply honestly, independently, conscientiously and with integrity, adding that “they are never subject to the whims and caprices of any person”.
Mr Justice Dotse assured Ghanaians that “we shall deal with cases which are filed before the courts expeditiously, bearing in mind the fact that issues turning on elections need to be quickly resolved”.
He urged parties and their lawyers to co-operate in order to achieve success.
Some of the participants at the forum in Accra.
The Chief Justice
The Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, thanked the British Department for International Development (DfID) for providing the needed sponsorship for the Judiciary to be in a position to deal promptly, efficiently, fairly and effectively with electoral disputes that might be instituted before and after the 2016 elections.
“The fact remains, though, that disputes may remain an inevitable feature of the process, regardless of best efforts at perfecting the electoral process. Elections, in our part of the world, unfortunately, have not been limited to a contest of strategic ideas at which political leaders are elected.
“It is often not without vigorous disagreements that, unfortunately, have often led to loss of limbs or, in extreme cases, loss of lives and destruction of property. But election violence is not justified; it does not, by any stretch of the imagination, qualify as a viable option,” she said.
Mrs Justice Wood said Ghanaians expected and truly deserved a smooth, timely and successful resolution of electoral disputes and reiterated her call for collaboration and co-operation among all stakeholders.
“At a time the High Court (Civil Procedure Rules 2004, (C.I. 47) has been amended to provide for witness statements, I am confident that the maximum professional diligence will be deployed by all judges in adjudicating the multiple suits being filed ahead of the December 7, 2016, elections,” she said.
The Chief Justice urged judges to exhibit high forms of fairness and impartiality in the line of their work.
IDEG Boss and Justice Gbadegbe
The Executive Director of the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, urged political parties to resort to alternative forms of dispute resolution, instead of embracing violence and litigation in court.
He commended the EC for strictly adhering to the rule in the discharge of its work.
A justice of the Supreme Court, Mr Justice N. S. Gbadegbe, said it was important for all processes leading to the December 7, 2016 polls to be taken seriously.