Don�t Show Video On Bribery Scandal � Dery

A Justice of the High Court, Mr Justice Paul Uuter Dery, has filed an application at the Fast Track High Court praying it for an injunction to restrain Tiger Eye PI from airing a video indicting him of taking bribe until the final determination of a suit he has filed. The video has been scheduled for screening at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) on September 22 and 23, 2015, but Mr Justice Dery wants the screening to be halted until his case with the private investigation entity, owned by ace investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, has been settled. Other respondents in the substantive suit are the Chief Justice and the Attorney-General. The applicant and 33 other judges are alleged to have taken bribes to compromise cases pending before them. Anas, in a two-year investigation, uncovered the rot and, as a result, the Judicial Council has instituted investigations which may lead to the impeachment of 12 superior court justices, including Mr Justice Dery. More than 100 members of staff of the Judicial Service have also been linked to the scandal. Portions of the video have been leaked, and displeased with that development, Mr Justice Dery, on September 14, 2015, filed the suit on the grounds that Tiger Eye PI had obtained the said video unlawfully. Application The application, which was filed on behalf of Mr Justice Dery by his lawyer, Nii Kpakpo Somoa Addo, is asking, among other things, that Tiger Eye PI and its agents be stopped from �carrying out public screening of the alleged evidence contained in the audio-visual recording until the final determination of the suit�. According to the applicant, Tiger Eye PI should also be restrained from leaking and further publication of various portions of the said audio-visual recording to the public through various media outlets, including social media platforms, until the final determination of the case. Grounds Setting out a number of grounds for filing the motion, the applicant stated, among other issues, that �the confidentiality attached to the impeachment proceedings should also extend to documents and other relevant materials employed or to be employed in the proceedings. �That it would be just, fair and convenient for this honourable court to restrain the respondent, its assigns, privies and agents from carrying out the intended public screening of the alleged evidence contained in the audio-visual recording at the Accra International Conference Centre on September 22 and 23, 2015 at 8 p.m., part of the subject matter of this suit, until the final determination of the suit.� According to the applicant, it would be just, fair and convenient for the court to restrain Tiger Eye PI �from leaking and further publication of various portions of the said audio-visual recording to the public through various media outlets, including social media platforms, until the final determination of the case�. Irreparable loss Mr Justice Dery said he stood to suffer irreparable damage in the likely event that he was successful in the substantive case and on the balance of convenience he stood to suffer more harm than Tiger Eye PI if the application for injunction was not granted. He said the application was the only remedy available to him in law to prevent the continued violation of his rights. His lawyer intends to rely on 36 legal authorities to make a case for him.