ABIDE BY CODE OF ETHICS — CJ (PAGE 3)

THE Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina T. Wood, has appealed to the staff of the Judicial Service to abide by the code of ethics of the profession and work hard to facilitate the administration of justice in the country.
This, she said, could only be achieved when they exhibit commitment to duty, courtesy, humility and respect to the members of the public, who, in their desire to seek justice, patronised the various courts.
Mrs Wood made the appeal when she interacted with some workers of the service in Koforidua yesterday to learn first-hand their concerns.
“Any insubordination, dereliction of duty and lack of respect towards members of the public on your part only undermine efforts at improving the delivery of justice to the public,” she said.
Mrs Wood, who was accompanied by the judges of the various courts in the region, as well as an Appeal Court Judge, Mr Jones Dotse, who also has oversight responsibility over the courts in the region, also paid familiarisation visits to the Anyinam and the Kwabeng Magistrate’s courts to acquaint herself with the challenges facing the Judicial Service workers there.
The Chief Justice said the Judicial Service played an important role in the country’s democratic dispensation, particularly in the area of good governance and the rule of law.
By this, she said, the Judicial Service had over the years assisted people in distress and provided the needs of aggrieved people who desired justice.
Mrs Wood further noted that although the service had been over-staffed over the years, low productivity and lack of commitment on the part of some workers had severely affected the efficient and effective delivery of justice in the courts.
“We must try to work hard and exhibit courteous conduct towards members of the public so as to provide them with the reliefs they seek,” the CJ stated.
According to her, as part of efforts to motivate personnel of the service to give their best, her outfit had recently embarked on a mass promotion exercise and called on those who felt cheated by the system of promotion to notify the authorities for immediate redress.
The Chief Justice also urged the personnel of the service to strive to upgrade themselves and invest in information communications technology, saying: Your promotion is strongly tied to your level of computer literacy, which is indispensable to the prompt delivery of justice”.