Uphold the constitution

Thursday, April 16, 2009 (Centre Spread)

A Supreme Court judge, Ms Justice Sophia Akuffo, has encouraged Ghanaians to uphold the Constitution and defend the rights of their colleagues at all times.
She said the 1992 Constitution comprehensively protected the rights of Ghanaians and therefore it was important for the public to reciprocate that gesture by respecting the rights of each other.
Ms Justice Akuffo made these remarks when the Leader of the United Kingdom House of Commons, Right Honourable Harriet Harman, paid a familiarisation visit to the premises of the Judicial Service in Accra yesterday.
Right Honourable Harman was accompanied by the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Dr Nicholas Westcott, and six officials.
Ms Justice Akuffo, who stood in for the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Wood, explained the progress the judiciary had made in connection with the protection of human rights in the country.
She said there was no limit on the remedies for people whose human rights had been infringed upon, adding that “the remedies are appropriate”.
Ms Harman, who is also the Minister for Women and Labour Party Chair, enquired whether or not there were laws to cater for domestic violence to which Ms Justice Akuffo answered in the affirmative.
According to Ms Akuffo, domestic violence cases were treated within the ambience of the law.
Ms Justice Akuffo said the number of female judges was less than that of their male counterparts because most female lawyers preferred to go into private practice instead of joining the bench.
She further stated that judges underwent training programmes each year to enhance their capacity to effectively deal with cases that came before them.
Touching on criminal cases and the high number of remand prisoners, Ms Justice Akuffo explained that the delays normally occurred at the investigations stage and it was, and that it was against the law to grant bail to persons accused of rape, murder and robbery, among others.
She explained that remand prisoners were put in the general prisons because there were no remand prisons in the country.
That notwithstanding, Ms Justice Akuffo pointed out that the country was putting the necessary structures in place to cater for challenges facing effective justice delivery in the country.
On her part, Ms Harman said she was impressed with the progress the judiciary had so far made in the areas of human rights protection and gender equality.
She said her delegation was in the country to assess the progress Ghana had made in the areas of human rights and violence against women, among others.