CJ still pushing for financial independence for the Judiciary

Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo, Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana, has repeated her resolve of fighting for financial independence of the Judicial Service, as required by the Constitution.

The push for the financial independence is to enable the Judicial Service to deal comprehensively with conditions of service of staff as well as to function efficiently.

Speaking at the launch of Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) 50th anniversary in Accra, last week, she said the Judicial Council has also recognised that compliance with Article 158(2), 159 and 161(c) of the Constitution require the activation of Constitutional Instrument.

“On assuming office as the Chief Justice, I met the leadership of JUSAG and assured them that the Judicial Service Cl is one of my priorities for assuring better conditions of work in our Institution. Work on the Cl is now well advanced, and the Judicial Council is keeping an eagle eye over the process to bring it to fruition,” she assured.

The theme of the anniversary launch is: “50 years of championing judicial excellence; embracing integrity, digitalisation and upholding judicial independence and staff welfare.”

Her ladyship was excited that JUSAG chose these thematic areas as a focal point for the jubilee celebration.

She, however, called on the judicial service and judiciary to boost the confidence of the public by embracing competence, diligence and integrity.

In furtherance of this, the Judicial Service staff were asked to embrace digitalization, legal literacy, professionalism and ethical conduct for efficient justice administration.

Furthermore, the Judicial Service over the years has received massive investment in infrastructure development, which by extension is bringing justice delivery closer to the people than before.

Samuel Afotey Otu, National President of JUSAG, recognizing the statement made by the Chief Justice, said in pursuit of better conditions of service, Association had embarked on a number of industrial actions in the past few years, which had implications on administration of Justice.

Nevertheless, the Association, he said would look forward to a future where their conditions of service would have relatively permanent enhancement with legal backing in line with Article 158(2) of the Constitution, which provides for a Cl to govern the condition of service.

He added that the theme for the occasion was to help them reflect on the contribution JUSAG had made towards justice delivering, particularly in the midst of technological innovation.

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