Give litigants fair day in court - Prez tells judges

President John Dramani Mahama has called on the Supreme Court to instil confidence in litigants so that parties to a case would be assured of a fair day in court.


"This can be made possible if we have unbiased judges who will determine cases on their merit without fear or favour," he said.
President Mahama made the call when he swore in two new Justices of the Supreme Court at the Flagstaff House yesterday.
They are Mr Justice Yaw Apau and Mr Justice Gabriel-Scot Pwamang.
Justice Apau has considerable experience on the bench, while Justice Pwamang has experience at the bar.

Corruption
The President also challenged the Judiciary to be a committed partner in the fight against corruption.
"There are many times the decision of the courts have dampened the spirits of the people and the agencies involved in the fight against crime and corruption," he said.

He assured the Judiciary of the government's support and respect in the exercise of its independence and lawful duties.
The law, he said, was a tool for development which must advance the progress of society.

Strength
Emphasising the strength of the Judiciary and the legal profession in democratic governance, President Mahama said the success of any democratic state depended heavily on how effective the two functioned.
In that context, he said, the courts must ensure that their decisions stood the test of history and were followed by other common law jurisdictions and international tribunals.He said that could be achieved if the courts’ decisions were sound and had significant influence on other jurisdictions.

"These are very important matters on which we must focus attention because there had been landmark decisions given in our courts that have been held to be contrary to international law.
"This must engage the attention of legal researchers," he said.

Errors
President Mahama said as a human institution, the courts were prone to error by ommission or commission.
However, the nation expected continuous improvement in their delivery, as well as the other arms of government.
The President congratulated the two new judges on going through the rigorous process of appointment to the highest court of the land.
He urged them to undertake their work with integrity.

He expressed the confidence that with the support of the Chief Justice and other colleagues at the Supreme Court, the judgements of the two new judges would serve as judicial precedent.
Justice Apau thanked the President for the confidence reposed in him and his colleague and pledged to be fair in their delivery.