JUDGES MUST HEED CJ'S ADVICE

THE success of every democratic governance rests on a fair and firm justice system in which the rule of law is respected by both the government and the governed.
Article 125 of the 1992 Constitution says that “Justice emanated from the people and shall be administered in the name of the Republic by the Judiciary, which shall be independent and subject only to this Constitution.”
This is why one of the cardinal benchmarks of an effective justice system declares that nobody is declared guilty until a court of competent jurisdiction has found him or her to have committed the offence.
But the legal framework alone cannot guarantee law and order in society without members of the bench being prepared to dispense justice without fear or favour.
It is in this context that the admonition by the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, to judges not to turn themselves into “little tigers” in the course of discharging their duties is appropriate.
Over the years, well-meaning people have had cause to complain about the way the judicial system works, particularly concerning the delay in adjudicating cases and the numerous adjournments to confirm the axiom that “Justice delayed is justice denied”.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is in no doubt about the fact that the problems we have, as a country, with mob justice and people taking the law into their own hands are traceable to the ineffective justice system, even though we frown on those evil practices in no uncertain terms.
Though the Constitution states clearly that justice emanates from the people and, therefore, every legal system must promote the security of the individual, most people are afraid to take their cases to the courts.
The reasons for this state of affairs are not hard to find — justice has become expensive, time consuming and cumbersome. Sometimes members of the bench and the bar frustrate litigants with technicalities and unnecessary adjournment of cases. Moreover, the court setting itself and the processes are intimidating.
Add to these ignorance of the law, as well as basic rights, on the part of the majority of our people and you will understand why judges and magistrates can easily become “little tigers” in their courts.
That was why, at a certain stage in our judicial history, the idea of a panel system was introduced at the tribunal level so that some lay people could sit to determine the guilt or otherwise of their peers.
It is heartwarming, however, to note that the Chief Justice recognised some of the challenges in the judicial system when she reminded judges that “people in court are people in distress. Be firm with them but treat them with civility.”
The DAILY GRAPHIC is aware of the efforts being made by Mrs Justice Wood to purge and clean the system to make it workable, although we concede that any reform process is likely to come up against obstacles because of entrenched interests, conventions, usages and traditions in the system.
We remind our judiciary to be responsive to the needs of the time, since our desire to establish a just society rests on the effectiveness of the judiciary which will serve as a bulwark against dictatorship, injustice, corrupt practices by public office holders and arbitrariness.
This is why we plead with the Chief Justice to spare no effort to make the judiciary user-friendly, so that people in distress who want to seek redress at the courts, instead of applying self-help, will have confidence in the justice delivery system.
We also plead with members of the bench to live above reproach, since, as people who determine the fate of their fellow men, they must, like Caesar’s wife, be above suspicion.