Politics: Atuguba sparks fury over research on political leanings of judges

The law lecturer was criticised by the Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, Supreme Court judge Justice Jones Dotse and an Appeals Court judge, Justice Irene Charity Larbie.

Renowned lawyer Raymond Atuguba has sparked outrage among Supreme Court judges when he presented a research he commissioned on their voting patterns on "political cases."

The law lecturer was criticised by the Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, Supreme Court judge Justice Jones Dotse and an Appeals Court judge, Justice Irene Charity Larbie.

READ MORE: Political leanings influence ruling of Judges - Atuguba

Mr Atuguba in his presentation said he analysed 100 “political cases” and notice that the rulings of the Supreme Court judges were influenced by the political party that appointed them, especially on cases were the constitution is not definite.

He made the findings of his research public on Thursday at the 2018 GIMPA Law Conference.

“It is not a coincidence that this happened...and it will soon be discovered by the general populace and it may be too late then to gain public trust and respect for the court. The time to act is now,” Prof Atuguba said of his research.

Reacting to it, the Chief Justice criticised it as alien and cautioned the respected lawyer.

She said: “It is an American type of research that you have done...that’s fine, but please be careful what you are importing into our environment.

“They [Americans] are used to that, we are not. I don’t think there was a single judge who agreed with what you were saying,” she said.

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On his part, Justice Jones Dotse, celebrated for his famous “create, loot and share” judgement in the Woyome case also reacted to the research, saying: “I think it is an insult of the highest order.”

In a statement, said Prof. Atuguba’s research is a direct attack on the integrity of justices of the Supreme Court.

The law lecturer was criticised by the Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, Supreme Court judge Justice Jones Dotse and an Appeals Court judge, Justice Irene Charity Larbie. Read Full Story