The Chief Justice of Ghana, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, has asked judges to desist from publicly commenting on pending court cases, warning them of contempt charges.
Calling for a more rapid application of contempt proceedings against judges who comment on ongoing court cases, Justice Torkornoo reminded judges that they are not above the law of contempt.
Speaking at the 7th Annual Legal Ethics Training Programme organized by the African Centre on Law and Ethics (ACLE) at the GIMPA law school, she emphasized that the same standards should apply to judges as they do to ordinary citizens who make public comments on pending cases .
The Chief Justice cited the code of conduct for judges, which explicitly prohibits them from making public statements that could influence the outcome or fairness of a pending or impending court matter.
“A judge shall refrain from making any public statement that might reasonably be expected to affect the outcome or impair the fairness of a matter pending or impending in any court or any non-public statement that might substantially interfere with a fair trial or hearing.
“If we could call an individual for contempt before any court for discussing a case in court, then we ought to haul a judge even faster” Gertrude Torkornoo said in her address.
Dormaahene Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu II, who serves as both a traditional leader and a high court judge, on July 1, appealed to the President and the Attorney General to halt and terminate the trial of Assin North MP, James Gyakye Quayson.
“As a matter of urgency, I am appealing to the President of the Republic, if he has any role to play, that trial should be aborted, and the Attorney-General should as a matter of urgency file a Nolle Prosequi to end that particular decision and abort the criminal case against Mr Quayson,” the Dormaahene explained at the Prof John Evans Atta Mills Commemorative Lecture in Sunyani.
The Chief Justice also justified the decision not to call persons with “obscene” and “offensive” conduct to the bar.
Her comments come months after a student of the Ghana School of Law, popularly known as “Ama Governor” on social media was denied the call to the bar for what the Law School described as improper public conduct that violates the code of conduct for trainee legal practitioners.
