A senior law lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon, Dr Opoku Adusei has dared anybody to show in the Constitution of Ghana and the rules of ethics of the judges where they are restrained from commenting publicly after giving a judgement on a case.
According to the law magnate, the judgement given by the Supreme Court has become public document which allows anybody including judges, lawyers and academics in law to pass their comment and even deliver a public lecture on the judgement.
Speaking on Okay Fm’s Ade Akye Abia Morning Show to respond to the reaction from lawyer Abraham Amaliba, Dr. Opoku Adusei posited the case is not before any judge to stop Justice Jones Dotse from commenting since the case with the EC has been settled, making any comment after the judgment to be the person’s view.
A lawyer with the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abraham Amaliba has criticized Supreme Court judge, Justice Jones Dotse after he publicly clarified a controversial judgment that had set the country on tenterhooks.
Amaliba said “it is unethical for a judge to come out in the open to discuss his own judgment”.
Justice Dotse almost settled a huge controversy over the Supreme Court’s judgment which had ordered the Electoral Commission (EC) to remove names of persons who used the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) card to register.
The EC has insisted the court judgment had nothing to do with removing names of NHIS card holders. The EC's position has been backed by the ruling government and scorned by the opposition.
But the Supreme Court judge in his interview with journalists was emphatic that the judgment was clear and unambiguous.
The senior law lecturer maintained his position that though it is uncommon to hear judges speak to the media, nothing restrains any of the judges to comment on the judgement which has been delivered and becomes public document.
“Nothing restrains any judge to comment on the judgement which has been delivered and becomes public document; there is nothing wrong with that. He can even give public lecture on the judgment but if the case is still pending in court or it has not started then the judge or nobody can pass any comment on it”, he highlighted.
On the issue of unethical raised by lawyer Amaliba, the law lecturer dared the NDC defeated Parliamentary aspirant to show the rules of ethic of the judges that Justice Jones Dotse has abused, asserting that Amaliba’s used of the word ‘disrepute’ is just a political talk.
He insisted that judges can comment on judgement they have concluded; thus they can critique their own judgement for academic purpose.
He however suspected that the comment passed by Justice Dotse could have been a decision by all the judges who sat on the case in order to put to rest the doubt about the Supreme Court judgement as there is little time left for the general election to delay the cleaning of the voter’s register.
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