SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE HON. LADY CHIEF JUSTICE, MRS. JUSTICE GEORGINA T. WOOD, AT THE LAUNCH OF THE 3RD EDITION OF THE MANUAL ON ELECTION DISPUTE ADJUDICATION IN GHANA ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016 AT THE ACCRA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE
Source: judicial_service_of_ghana

Honourable Chairman, Mr. Justice V.C.R.A.C. Crabbe Honourable Attorney-General & Minister for Justice Colleague Honourable Judges and Magistrates Honourable Ministers of State and Members of Parliament The President and Members of the Ghana Bar Association Distinguished Excellencies of the Diplomatic Corps Members of the Security Services Our Revered Traditional Leaders Members of the Media Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, My task this afternoon is a very simple one. I am here to launch the 3 rd edition of the Manual on Election Dispute Adjudication in Ghana. This is to fulfil a promise I made at the 9 th Annual Chief Justice’s Forum, which was held at the Labadi Beach Hotel, a couple of weeks ago, under the theme “The Judiciary and Election 2016”. Today’s event is yet another clear demonstration of the Judiciary’s collective resolve, to prepare adequately to meet its constitutional obligations under the upcoming 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections. That the Judiciary remains the true custodian and guardian of the rule of law is indisputable. And so, we in the Judiciary recognise this duty, namely, that as the final arbiters, we have a responsibility to guide this nation towards peaceful, orderly and credible elections, as a constitutional imperative, a responsibility that is not to be toyed with, but one to be guarded jealously and responsibly. It is a constitutional responsibility to which, as faithful arbiters, we have pledged our unstinting loyalty, heart, soul and mind, to a further consolidation of our nascent democracy and survival of our nation. In the broader context, our determination reflects the Judiciary’s continuing commitment and promise to Ghanaians, as per the solemn oaths we subscribe to on our appointments to be steadfastly, a part of the solution process for the protection of the democratic principles and values. More importantly, it shows our commitment to safeguard the right to vote within the right political space, namely, in free and fair elections, and with all the advantages to accrue, including sustained socio-economic and political progress of our nation, Ghana. It therefore gives me great pleasure to meet with you as part of the effort to share with you the benefits of the Third Edition of the Manual on Election Adjudication in Ghana which I am about to launch. The recent Chief Justice’s forum, particularly the group sessions ably supervised by my colleague Justices of the Supreme Court, witnessed frank, lively and very useful deliberations by the participants. The deliberations yielded critical but rather simple steps and sets of actions towards significant improvements in the work of the judiciary, relative particularly, to the speedy adjudication of electoral disputes. These have no doubt enriched our jurisprudence on election law. I should, once again, say “thank you” to the security services, civil society, political party leaders, lawyers and the host of others who attended and contributed to the discussions. Judicial rectitude is a key virtue in justice administration. And so, the refreshingly wholesome manner in which judges designated to hear the several electoral disputes before the courts urgently and undergirded by substantive and procedural fairness, tackled those cases, deserves special mention. Three of the cases pending before the High Courts, were disposed of within two weeks or less of the date of filing. Justices Eric Kyei Baffour and Barbara Tettey-Charway demonstrated commendable stewardship. Justices George Koomson, Norvisi Aryene, and Georgina Mensah-Datsa whose cases were suspended midway by order of the Supreme Court, also deserve our thanks for the manner in which they were conducting these cases, in order to avert a possible constitutional crisis. The Supreme Court panel presided over by my sister the Honourable Mrs. Justice Sophia Adinyira, on Monday, the 7 th of October, with a profound understanding of the exigencies of the times, eventually brought finality to the raging issues around disqualified presidential hopefuls. I pray that the judicial leadership, demonstrated by the apex court, would become a permanent hallmark, that is, the corporate identity of the judiciary of Ghana. In other words, this brand of leadership should be emulated by all courts, in all cases, not only election related disputes. The court’s decision paved the way for the Electoral Commission to put back on track its electoral calendar, to ensure citizens participation in the Presidential and Parliamentary elections of 7 th December, 2016. Although it is too late to include the body of laws emanating from these decisions in this publication as an addendum, I am hopeful that these would find their rightful place in the next publication. As I noted on 24 th October 2016, disputes remain an inevitable feature of elections regardless of best efforts at perfecting the electoral process. The potential of legal disputes arising before, during, or after the Election Day proper are real. When they do occur, where they cannot with the best of intentions be resolved amicably, we equally expect resort to our courts. Aggrieved parties must never resort to violence or employ other unlawful and unconstitutional approaches that threaten our peace and jeopardise our democratic journey, which has become the cynosure of all eyes and admired world- wide especially, on the African continent, and rightfully earning us international acclaim. The genesis of the Manuals commenced in 2008 when I pledged that the Judiciary will come out with a Manual which will contain all the relevant constitutional, statutory and case laws governing elections. In line with that promise, the 2008 Manual, which proved very useful, was published and widely disseminated. This Third Edition is also a user-friendly, easy-to read and concise information resource on substantive and procedural requirements for the resolution of election disputes. Accordingly, it seeks to bring to the attention of all stakeholders, recent developments in and amendments to the election laws through legislative reform (such as the Public Elections Regulations, 2016 (CI 94), reproduced in Appendix 1 at pages 254-306 of the Manual and recent and relevant case law as determined by the Superior Courts in the country before and after the publication of the Second Edition of the Manual in 2012. It differs from the previous two editions by the inclusion of key provisions of new election laws such as C.I 91 and C.I 94, recent amendments to existing election laws as well as digests of recent case law on election disputes including the historic Presidential Election Petition of 2012. Indeed, there has been in recent times, extensive developments in case law on Presidential and Parliamentary Elections disputes, particularly, on the question of the right to register as a voter and the right of a person to be nominated as a parliamentary candidate of a political party in preparation for the upcoming 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections such as Republic v High Court, General Jurisdiction, Accra: Ex parte Zanetor Rawlings (Ashittey & National Democratic Congress Interested Parties) (No. 2), Supreme Court, 18 th July 2016; to be reported in [2015-2016] SCGLR 92; digested in Appendix 2 of the Manual at pages 370-374. It should be observed that the Third Edition has been extensively written in parts and revised in the light of the applicable statutory and case law such as the new Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2016 (CI 91); the Public Elections Regulations, 2016 (CI 94), and Abu Ramadan (No 3) v Electoral Commission & Attorney-General, Supreme Court , 5 th July 2016 as captured in Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 at pages 220-253 and 254-306; and 353-362 respectively. Like the Second Edition of the Manual, this Third Edition is evidence of the Judiciary’s continued determination to contribute to the consolidation of Constitutional Rule in Ghana by arming itself with the necessary tools for dealing competently, efficiently and in a timely manner with all matters relating to the decision on the President and the representatives of the people. From the 21 st of November 2016, to 25 th November 2016, the Election Task Force Committee of the Judicial Service will embark upon an extensive training of all the Judges and Magistrates in the trial Courts in Ghana on the Manual. Thereafter, a seminar will be organized for the appellate courts before 7 th December, 2016 on the Manual. All these are designed to ensure that the courts and the Judges are well prepared to expeditiously deal with all election related disputes both civil and criminal. The manual is the product of painstaking work by two outstanding constitutional experts of this great land, Dr. S.Y. Bimpong-Buta and Prof. Kofi Kumado of the School of Law, University of Ghana, Legon. They were engaged by the Judicial Service for the revision and publication of the third Edition. I would like to thank them for the assignment ably done and also for their continuing and dedicated support spanning the period 2008 to date. The real people who laboured in the trenches day and night to make the dreams and aspirations come into fruition at this point in time is the Election Task Force of The Judicial Service, comprising three Justices of the Supreme Court, namely, Justices Victor Jones Dotse, N. S Gbadegbe and Paul Baffoe–Bonnie; and the Director of the Judicial Training Institute, Justice Dennis Adjei, a Justice of the Court of Appeal. The Task Force was ably supported by the Second Deputy Judicial Secretary (DJS 2) Mr. Richard Apietu and Mr . Ampong–Fosu, Director of the Reforms and Projects Department of the Judicial Service. I applaud this team for the sacrifices and hard work that have enabled us to keep to our commitment to play a critical role in ensuring successful elections that promote Ghana as a beacon of hope for emergent constitutional democracies the world over. The Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, one of our strategic development partners, once again generously provided the financial resources for the publication of the Third Edition of the Manual on Election Adjudication in Ghana as well as the training of the Judges who would handle electoral disputes. We are also deeply grateful to DFID for this timely assistance. The Manual is not meant for the exclusive use of Judges and Lawyers. I encourage all actors and stakeholders of the electoral process including the media to acquaint themselves with the contents. This way, they will first get to know and appreciate the law on elections. The constitutional right to fair trial includes the following provision enshrined under article 19 clause 11 of the 1992 Constitution: “No person shall be convicted of a criminal offence unless the offence is defined and the penalty for it is prescribed in a written law.” It is to keep all stakeholders and the general public fully aware of what constitutes a criminal offence under our electoral laws that these details have been included in this manual. Well–informed opinion leaders will be in a position to properly transmit the knowledge acquired to assist citizens to appreciate their proper roles in society- their constitutional duties and responsibilities as voters, and also the electoral dispute resolution processes and procedures available at law. It is my prayer that knowledge of these laws would lead to even more timely dispensation of justice in all election related cases and petitions, and perhaps, even more importantly, help to avoid or reduce the tension and violence that have become associated with African elections. It is my pleasure to officially pronounce duly launched, the 3 rd edition of the Manual on Election Dispute Adjudication in Ghana. May God bless our homeland Ghana and make it great and strong. Thank you, and God Bless You. Prev Next