Renowned Lawyer Sam Okudjeto has suggested to the William Atugubah led nine Justices handling the ongoing election petition to move beyond warnings and punish the identified loudmouth Lawyers whose comments are harmful to their hard won reputations.
The bench on Thursday for the second time took a swipe at some Lawyers whose ill-mannered actions undermines the integrity of the court.
The Justices have hence cautioned all lawyers and their associates representing the parties involved in the case to desist from misrepresenting events in the chamber.
It was against this backdrop, Lawyer Sam Okudjeto encouraged the nine justices to take quick action by sanctioning such Lawyers saying, �Their integrity is important and so they must take steps to sanction such Lawyers by causing their arrest and lock them up for contempt.�
Lawyer Okudjeto said such behavior has the tendency of damaging the nation�s judicial system in the international community. �If the international community loses confidence in our court systems we are doomed because no foreign investor will want to invest in the country.�
He continued, �If the citizens lose confidence in the court system they will take the law into their own hands and these are some of the things that lead to the action of land guards.�
He maintained that even Lawyers who are not connected to the case ought to be mindful of their utterances in the media. �All of us as Lawyers are expected to respect the integrity of the courts by not using words or intemperate language that will create the impression that the Judges are not fair or that they are not competent or knowledgeable.�
He maintained that even Lawyers who are not connected to the case ought to be mindful of their utterances in the media on court matters.
�The responsibility of both Lawyers and Judges is to be able to respect the dignity and integrity of the courts and I always maintain that the court is the final arbiter of the land.�
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