The Chief Justice, Mrs. Justice Georgina Wood, on Thursday defended the independence of the judiciary, saying that no one can influence judges in the adjudication of cases. She said under the 1992 Constitution, no judge, not even the Chief Justice, had the power to influence the decisions of judges and that anybody who did that was creating a situation for his or her own disengagement as a law officer. Speaking at the annual Lady Chief Justice’s Mentoring Programme in Accra, Mrs. Justice Wood said what any judge could do was persuade his or her colleague with impeccable evidential material, but not influence him or her regarding the decisions to make in justice delivery. She said where a panel was constituted to hear a case, each judge has the right to express his or her own opinion or even disagree with the Chief Justice who might serve on the panel. At the end of the day, she said it was the different legal opinions expressed which will be aggregated to determine the outcome of a particular case. The mentoring programme affords students of selected Senior High Schools (SHSs) in the country the opportunity to interact with the chief justice to “sharpen” their vision and learn about careers in the legal field. It was instituted four years ago after students of the Wesley Girls’ High School, Mrs. Justice Wood’s alma matter, paid a visit to congratulate her elevation to the position. This year, students from Accra Academy, Accra High SHS, Ebenezer SHS, Nungua Presby SHS, all in Accra, were present. The Chief Justice advised the students to make good use of the opportunities in school to study hard and come out with flying colours. For this part, the Director of the Ghana School of Law, Mr. George Sarpong, said from the 2013 academic year, students of the school would undergo one full year of academic work, six months internship with law firms and six months of pupilage. He explained that after one year of academic work and six months of internship, the students would be called to the bar, after which they would undergo six months of pupilage, nothing that the six-month attachment was aimed at strengthening the students in the practical aspect of the law. He said the general legal council had also agreed that from October this year students entering the school should be taken through an interview session, adding that it had been agreed that just having an academic qualification was not enough for one to enter the Ghana School of Law. At a roundtable discussion organised by the National Commission of Civil Education (NCCE) in Accra in April this year, some legal brains upheld the perception that the country’s judicial system was corrupt and stressed the need for the corrupt judges and stuff of the Judicial Service to purge themselves of that perception to ensure the efficient delivery of justice to the people. Proceeding on the claim of having evidence and the assumption that “there is no smoke without fire,” the Executive Secretary of the Constitution Review Commission (CRC), Dr. Raymond Atuguba; an official of the Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General’s Department, Dr. B.I. Korray; the Director of the Legal Aid Scheme (LAS), Mr. A.Y. Seini; an official of the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), Mr. Abraham, agreed that judicial corruption was now more of a reality than a perception, given the overwhelming evidence that justice was delivered “to the highest bidder.” The roundtable discussion held on the theme: “The Judiciary and the Justice System,” formed part of the activities making the 11th annual Constitution Week, under the auspices of the NCCE, on the theme: “The state of Ghana’s Democracy, 2011.” The Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana has dragged the four lawyers to the General Legal Council to provide material evidence to support their allegation. Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana