<<Print>>

A justice of the Court of Appeal,has called on media practitioners to be circumspect, particularly when they are reporting on court issues in order not to misinform the public. He explained that as the fourth estate of the realm, one of its duties was to educate the public, and advised practitioners to ensure that what they were imparting to their audience was the right thing. Justice Appau was speaking in Kumasi at a two-day seminar for journalists on court proceedings and how the justice system operated in Ghana on Saturday. The objective of the workshop was to help participants understand the judicial system, equip them to report accurately on court proceedings devoid of exaggerations, distortions or sensationalism, court room etiquette, as well as knowing the powers of judges and contempt of court. Participants were taken through topics such as the justice system, hierarchy of the court and how to address the various judges, court connected alternative dispute resolution (ADR), Electronic-justice, court room language and terminologies. It was organised in conjunction with the Judicial Training Institute (JTI) and the Department for International Development (DFID). According to him, some journalists also ended up exposing juveniles in criminal issues, rape and defilement victims, instead of protecting their interest. He said it was important that the media were cautious in the way and manner they treated traumatised people in their reportage and commentaries. The Director of the JTI, Mr Justice Samuel Marful-Sau, who is also a Justice of the Court of Appeal, urged the media to help promote the ADR system since that was less expensive, participatory, allowed parties to express their emotions, among other advantages it held over the normal court system. He called on media practitioners to rather see the court registrar, a lawyer, among other experts, for explanation of things they did not understand before publishing, rather than using their own understanding to distort the facts. For his part, a High Court Judge, Mr Justice Ofori Atta, explained that the law of contempt which was used sparingly, was not to protect the judge but to protect and respect the dignity of the court, adding that it should be respected to ensure the smooth running of the court. Mr Robert Cudjoe, Director of ICT, Judicial Service, said the court would soon be automated, and that plans were underway to get the staff on board the S24 million project funded by the World Bank.