Report Bribe Receivers To My Office - Chief Justice Georgina Woode

The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Theodora Woode said, it was wrong for people to pay bribe to magistrates, judges or judicial workers to win a case in court. She explained that access to equal justice was a collective responsibility of all and cautioned those who were influencing judicial service workers to put a stop to it since they were equally guilty of giving. "I want to emphasize this important fact that, no one needs to pay any bribe to a judge, Magistrate or any judicial service worker before his or her case can be adjudicated�. She said it was not only criminal but it could lead to wasted effort, time, and money if an appeal was made and the judgement overturned, The chief justice made the statement when she commissioned a new Magistrate Court building for the judicial service at Big-Ada in the Dangme East District of the Greater Accra Region. The facility was put up by the Dangme East District Assembly (DEDA). Mrs Woode advised the general public not to pay bribe to those mediators who tried to take advantage of their innocence or ignorance of how the law works. � Report them to our complaints unit or my office direct or better still cause their arrest if you must whether a Magistrate, a Judge, a lawyer, court official or any member of the public who see them to twist judgement in their favour,� she stated. She also advised the public to refrain from what she described as criminal and unhealthy habit and practice of asking people to see a magistrate or judge on their behalf on a pending case in court. Mrs Woode said the judicial council had demonstrated clearly that it would deal drastically with any magistrate, judge or staff who was found to have compromised his or her position by accepting bribe to influence his or her work. �As a judicial service worker, you are to eschew acts that are inimical to the promotion of Justice without fear or favour in the interest of the nation.� The chief justice praised the Dangme East District Assembly (DEDA) for providing assistance to the judicial service to ensure access to justice in the area. She gave the assurance that plans were far advanced by the judicial service to establish a circuit court in the district. The justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Dotse in a statement said anybody who came to the court, came with a grievance and urged the judicial service workers in the district to serve the people with humility, integrity and diligence. He also admonished the judicial service workers to maintain the facility for a longer lifespan. The District Chief Executive (DCE) Mr Rex Daniel Wussah in his welcome address said, currently the people of the district always travelled to Tema in their quest to seek justice at the Circuit Court or High Court adding to the already existing congestion in those courts. He therefore made a passionate appeal to the judicial service to seriously consider the construction of an entire court complex in the district. A divisional Chief, Nene Keke Zomabli III appealed to the judicial service to allow the Ada Traditional Council to handle certain minor issues to reduce the number of cases before the court. Present at the function included the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ada, Mr Alex Narh Tettey-Enyo, traditional rulers and heads of Institutions. As part of the commissioning ceremony there was mock trail court sitting where the DCE and the MP were the accused persons arraigned before the court. Nene Lanuer Okumo III, a Divisional Chief of Ada who chaired the function pledged the support of the chiefs to the judicial service.