Justice Atuguba Urges Ghana Judges To ‘Live In Seclusion’

Supreme Court judge, Justice William Atuguba has called on Ghanaian judges and magistrates to protect the integrity of the bench by taking seriously the guiding principles in the ‘Convention of Life in Seclusion on the Bench’.

Justice Atuguba said the cry about corruption in Ghana’s judicial fabric, had long run out before the Anas exposé and would have been long eradicated if precaution was taken to ensure  judges lived “secluded lives” free from social influences.

He reiterated the need for all to “bear in mind that their lives on earth are accountable imprest from the Lord most high” as he gave the keynote address at the annual magistrates and judges’ conference at the La Beach Hotel in Accra, Wednesday, September 28.

“The Anas exposé underscores the convention of life in seclusion on the bench. This convention seems to have whined on the altar of modernity. But our predicament should lead to its vigorous assertion.

“Observance of this convention and code ethics would greatly insulate us from social contagion arising from unbridled social interaction.

According to him, “it is better for a person on the bench to be wrongly perceived as anti-social than to be correctly perceived to be corrupt.”

Justice Atuguba also called for some reforms by way salaries for judges.

He says judges should be given a special remuneration system which would be different from all existing salary systems in Ghana.

“I call on the Bar, the Judicial Council and the Bench to coordinate their efforts and engage the article 71 committees and other relevant authorities to press for, recognition of and response of the fact that the Bench has a unique and pivotal role to play in this country and its conditions of Service must correspondingly be unique and should not be considered in common with any generalized policy on pay structure or the like.

“In this connection I call for the restoration of an enhanced leave allowance, substantial entertainment allowance, a handsome allowance for the loss of private professional practice as it is enjoyed by Doctors, Teachers and others,” Justice Atuguba stated.