Parliament lauds Chief Justice for promoting justice
Members of Parliament (MPs) last Thursday lauded the immediate past Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, for promoting the administration of justice in the country during her 10-year period at the head of the judiciary.
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They applauded Mrs Wood for ensuring judicial independence, integrity and impartiality.
The legislators praised Mrs Wood for introducing important reforms to facilitate the administration of justice, including the establishment of specialised courts and the automatic assignment of cases to judges.
Majority leader
The Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, set the tone for the commendation by presenting a statement on the retirement of Mrs Wood whose term of office ended last Thursday.
He said the former Chief Justice had chalked up enviable successes in Ghana's judicial reforms over the past 10 years.
"As the first female Chief Justice of Ghana, Mrs Wood, under her leadership, ensured that judicial independence was underpinned by the core values of integrity, transparency, impartiality, among others", he said.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said in a bid to decongest the courts and encourage settlement of cases out of court, Mrs Wood vigorously championed and promoted the Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism (ADRM).
That, he said, had improved access to justice and made ADRM one of the pillars of qualitative justice in the country.
Minority leader
The Minority Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, saluted Mrs Wood, whom he described as a woman of unquestionable integrity, for championing the Justice for All Programme, which saw to the freeing of many people in prison.
Again, he said, she introduced the election manual, which guided the manner for the adjudication of election related cases.
Mr Iddrisu suggested that a street be named after Mrs Wood in acknowledgement of her contribution to the administration of justice.
First Deputy Speaker
The First Deputy Speaker, Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu, said Mrs Wood's obsession with fighting corruption manifested in the way she handled Anas's expose on corruption in the judiciary.
He said the introduction of the automatic assignment of cases to judges had done away with the criticism of taking cases to favourable judges.
