'We won't usurp rule of law in investigating judges in Anas' expose' – Chief Justice

Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood says the judiciary will not sidestep constitutional provisions in its investigations into the alleged corruption involving 34 judges in the country.

She said the Judicial Service is an institution founded on the principle of fair trial and natural justice, hence would ensure rule of law prevails in the on-going investigations that has already been challenged by some of the judges involved.

“As we investigate the various alleged acts of gross misconduct, we will ensure that the rule of law with all the constitutional guarantees are safeguard” she assured in her address to open the Ghana Bar Association annual conference Monday.

The exposé by the award-winning ace investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, has prompted a judicial inquiry to establish a prima facie case against 22 lower courts judges who allegedly took bribes to influence their judgements.

Additional 12 High Court judges who were given 48 hours to submit their responses to the allegation have up to close of Monday to do so for impeachment processes to begin.

Already, some of the lower court judges have begun legal processes at the High Court to to challenge the procedure adopted by the Judicial Council on the basis of procedural error.

They are further praying the Court to stop Anas from broadcasting the recent documentary scheduled to premier on September 22 and 23 in Accra.

But making her first statement on the matter, Mrs. Wood said the Judiciary cannot usurp the Constitution in its handling of the issue, saying, “We cannot do otherwise. We are a justice institution birthed in the principles of fair trial and the natural justice principle that we are all too familiar with.

She dispelled claims that the alleged corruption has tainted the reputation of the judiciary, nothing that it has “not robed us of our institutional origins, identity or integrity. Our fidelity to the rule of law remains in tact.”

Mrs. Wood said considering that the Service is the last resort hope for Ghanaians, it is acting with all the urgency the matter deserves.

“Where culpability is established, the judicial council is determined to swiftly and decisively apply the appropriate sanctions in accordance with the laws of the land” she said.

By Stephen Kwabena Effah/3news.com/Ghana

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