The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) on May 24, 2007, launched the Transparency International (TI) Global Corruption Report (GCR 2007), with a focus on corruption in judicial systems.
The report said corruption is undermining judicial systems around the world, denying citizens access to justice and the basic human rights to a fair and impartial trial.
TI defines corruption as the misuse of entrusted power for private gain and in the context of the judiciary, corruption relates to acts or omissions that constitute the use of public authority for the private benefit of court personnel, and results in the improper and unfair delivery of judicial decisions.
Such acts and omissions include bribery, extortion, intimidation, influence-peddling and the abuse of court procedures for personal gain.
Corruption in the judicial system, according to the Report, occurs in many forms and under several guises:
* Political interference in the judicial process by the Legislative or Executive branch, and bribery.
* Interference from politicians or civil servants to buy “legal” cover for embezzlement, nepotism, cronyism and illegal political decisions.
* Inappropriate influence on the impartiality of judicial proceedings and judgments and can extend to the bribing of judges for favourable decisions, or no decision at all.
From a broader perspective, the report said judicial corruption is not confined to the inside of court. Corrupt lawyers, prosecutors, Police and Bailiffs are all in the position to distort the course of justice.
They may collude by tampering with evidence, distorting the facts in a case, loosing files, deliberately ignoring credible lines of inquiry or in the worst case, extracting confessions under torture.
While congratulating TI for focusing the Global Corruption on Judicial Corruption world-wide, The Standard wishes to narrow the report down to the part that concerns Ghana.
According to the Report, Surveys show that the public widely perceives corruption to exist within the judicial system in Ghana.
A 2004 Governance Profile by the World Bank found the majority of respondents (40 percent) believed the judiciary to be ‘somewhat’ corrupt followed by 39 percent who believed it to be ‘largely or completely’ corrupt.
A 2005 Afro Barometer Survey of Perceptions of Performance of Public Institutions in Ghana, found that the courts were one of the least trusted institutions, second only to the police.
To The Standard, these revelations should be worrying to all Ghanaians and ought to be redressed.
The Standard agrees with the Global Corruption Report that a corrupt judiciary erodes the international community’s ability to prosecute transnational crime and inhibits access to justice and redress for human rights violations.
It undermines economic growth by damaging the trust of the investment community, and impedes efforts to reduce poverty.
It allows criminals to go unpunished, destroys effective governance and democratic participation while the victims and accused are denied of the basic human rights to fair and impartial trial.
These, in our view, should be of great concern to all.
Some of the recommendations by TI which The Standard endorses to strengthen judicial independence and fight judicial corruption include:
* An independent judicial appointments body to ensure objective and transparent appointments of Judges.
* Judicial appointments based on merit, competence and integrity.
The Standard believes that the issue of corruption, however, should not be confined to one segment alone, it should be all-embracing.
At a recent workshop, the Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, stated that maximum results cannot be achieved in anti-corruption efforts which target only the government and the public sector.
Said the Vice President: “I do not believe that approach is practical over the long-term because either by commission or omission, the reality is that the private sector as well as civil society, also bears a significant responsibility for the incidence of corruption.”
In fighting perceived Judicial Corruption, it is the hope of The Standard that the incoming Chief Justice would continue with the efforts of the late Chief Justice, Mr. Justice George Kingsley Acquah, in fighting the canker.
During his tenure of office (2003-2007), Mr. Justice Acquah was in the forefront of judicial reform and restructuring and detested all forms of corruption.
The position of the Chief Justice, carries a heavy responsibility which demands diligence and commitment to the rule of law.
More News... |
