The Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, has urged the general public to call out court officials who request money from them to be given to judges in order to gain favour.
According to her, these court officials do not send such monies to the judges but rather keep it to themselves.
At a community sensitization programme in the Eastern Region, the Chief Justice said “The bribery and corruption around judges are too much hence the need for the public to help put a stop to it”.
The community sensitization programme is an initiative of Justice Torkornoo where she interacts directly with the public in communities to explain the work of the Judiciary and the basic principles of the law.
It is meant to simplify the work of the judiciary and let the public have a better understanding and appreciation of the judiciary as the third arm of government.
Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo therefore called on individuals to assist in fighting the corruption and bribery surrounding judges and other court officials adding that giving money to these officials will do you no good if the other side appeals
The Chief Justice also added that it is a crime and against the standards of the Judicial Service for court officials to demand money before performing their duties, meant to enhance justice delivery, to the public.
“Any court registrar, interpreter, clerk, recorder or any staff who asks for money to be given to a judge is a thief”, she said.
She however stressed that anyone aggrieved by the conduct of any court official should not hesitate to report them for prompt actions to be taken.
Addressing measures put in place to make the public understand the work of the judiciary, Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo noted that the judiciary will soon come out with user guides that would explain the works of various courts.
She explained that the user guide would be made available at all court buildings so that the public could access them and understand in simple terms what a particular court could do adding that the Judicial Service would also post on court premises the fees for the various services it provides to ensure transparency and to prevent court officials from demanding more than what is required.
