According to Citi News sources, this follows an intervention by the Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, who is said to have begun talks with President Akufo-Addo, to resolve the concerns of members of the lower bench.

[contextly_sidebar id=”oJecBPKmLVFIG1mZXHEoAgynzBmQGbIb”]Members of the lower bench, including circuit court judges and magistrates of the district courts, threatened to withdraw their services a fortnight ago over issues relating to their salaries and conditions of service.

The judges gave authorities a two-week ultimatum to address their concerns or witness a withdrawal of their services from the 21st March.

The judges have served several notices of a strike since 2016 but have never followed through.

The recent letter addressed to the Chief Justice accused the government of dragging its feet in resolving their issues.

“Historically, our dealings with the ministry of finance since 2013 have been characterized by deliberate inventions or errors and mistakes, withdrawal of salaries, deductions in salaries and deliberate mistakes.”

They also expressed frustration at what they described as government’s disrespect towards them.

“We find that these actions of the government are a violation of Article 149 of the 1992 Constitution. It is our view that government‘s attitude frustrates the work of the Judicial Council on salaries of the lower bench by treating the work of the Council itself and lower bench with contempt.’’

The judges also withdrew from further salary negotiations because according to them, after several meetings with the Joint Judicial Council and Government Negotiating Team between February 26 and March 2, 2018, nothing concrete had been achieved.

They have raised a number of issues which include the lack of personal security for them, the poor state of their chambers and courtrooms, the lack of armed security in the courts and non-availability of risk allowances for them.

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By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to Citi News sources, the judges have not received the allowances due them since January 2017, forcing them to use their own resources, including fuel for official duties.

The source further disclosed that the judges of the Lower Bench will boycott the annual Judges and Magistrates Conference as well as all end of legal year activities beginning this week.

The agitation compelled Justice Alex B. Acheampong, the Judicial Secretary (JS) to write to Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta demanding payment of the allowances.

A copy of the letter dated September 5, 2017, said: “we refer to our letters dated 25th April 2017, 7th June 2017 and July 24, 2017, in respect of payment of petrol allowance due the members of the Lower Bench and payment of allowances for staff of the Service.”

It stated, “the non-payment of these approved allowances which are due the affected judges and staff is leading to agitation and any further delay in honoring these obligations could result in labour unrest.”

The letter, however, urged the finance minister to intervene in the resolution of the matter for the smooth running of the Judicial Service and the courts.

Subsequent to the letter, Citi News gathered that Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo met with the minister in an attempt to bring closure to the issue.

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By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to the Association, judges within the country deserve more than they currently receive as conditions of service.

The association in recent times has been complaining about the lack of accommodation and proper residential facilities.

[contextly_sidebar id=”rvPzQoF3oZYSYeUeWvgJovjYDwTP0jOK”]Speaking at the 35th Anniversary of the murder of three high court judges in Ghana, President of the BAR, Benson Nutsukpui, said more has to be done to ensure a resilient democracy underpinned by the tenets of the Rule of law.

“As we celebrate our departed judges, as members of the legal community, it is necessary that we recommit ourselves to the entrenchment of the rule of law in our country. It cannot be sustained when the conditions of service and the working conditions of judges are nothing to write home about. Judicial independence is best secured by good conditions of service of our judges which in turn assures resilient democracies underpinned by the tenants of the rule of law,” he added.

Lower court judges threaten strike over small salaries

In June 2016, lower court judges issued a stern warning to government to immediately abandon a planned move to revise their conditions of service.

The judges, who work in the magistrate and circuit courts across the country, said they were being short-changed in a proposal presented for a review of their salaries.

One of the judges, His Honor Aboagye Tandor, had earlier said they were going to advise themselves if nothing was done about their concerns.

The lower court judges later in November 2016 threatened to embark on a strike if government fails to increase their salaries by 10 percent.

In the letter, the lower court judges lamented that several efforts in having the issue resolved including writing a letter to the Ministry of Finance have proved futile.

The judges are believed to receive very low salaries, some far below GHS4, 000 a month.

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By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to the judges, the incident on Thursday has brought to light the threat they face each day with the inadequate security at the various courts in the country.

Addressing the press after an emergency meeting over the incident, the judges also called for an immediate arrest of all the people involved in the attack.

[contextly_sidebar id=”OZ0Ut6QFC7T1lf6vDuiXvlkSbZBqTUuQ”]“We call on the authorities, to as a matter of urgency, particularly the police, to arrest and bring to normalcy the situation for peace loving Ghanaians to go about their lawful duties. Such acts are a threat and intimidation of the members of the judiciary. It should be most gratifying for us, and of course all Ghanaians, that all involved will be apprehended and dealt with according to law,” Justice Victor Ofoe, President of the Association said.

He also called on members of the Association especially in the Ashanti Region to stay calm.

“To our members, particularly in Kumasi, where the incident occurred, we call upon you to stay calm whilst an immediate solution is found to the impasse. We assure you that we are in discussions with the leadership of the Judicial Service towards providing maximum security to all the courts. As earlier directed, all members who have reason to feel threatened should through the Headship of the Regional Administration of the Service, report to the Regional Police commander for appropriate steps to be taken,” he added.

While describing the act by the Delta Force as “primitive, uncivilized, uncouth, primordial and criminal,” Justice Ofoe further called on the police to take steps to forestall such occurrences in the future.

“We call on the government, particularly the police hierarchy, as a matter of urgency, to take all necessary steps to allay the worries, fears and anxiety of all judges and magistrates in the region. We would, with all deference, strongly advise the police in future not to fail in their threat assessment of cases that come before the courts. Every court should be considered a flush point, a point that is worth the constant eye of the security agencies since criminal trials have the potential of emitting violence.”

Background

Members of the Delta Force stormed a Kumasi Circuit court on Thursday, and vandalized some court property as well as freeing 13 of their members, who were facing trial for allegedly harassing the Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator, George Adjei.

The 13 escaped after some members of the vigilante group monitoring the court proceedings, sparked confusion during the hearing.

12 of them have subsequently turned themselves in to the Police, while eight of the Delta Force members who attacked the court have also been arrested.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey % Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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The Justices, the legal body under the Chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, suspended from office with immediate effect were the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal Ilorin Division, Justice Mohammed Ladan Tsamiya, Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice I. A. Umezulike and Justice Kabiru M. Auta of the High Court of Justice, Kano State.

The Council which took the decision at its 78th meeting which held on September 29, said it recommended compulsory retirement of the three judicial officers after due consideration of petitions against them.

A statement by the Acting Director of Information at the NJC, Mr. Soji Oye, read: “In the case of Hon. Justice Kabiru M. Auta, he is to be handed over to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 1, Kano, for prosecution. “Hon. Justice Mohammed Ladan Tsamiya of the Court of Appeal was recommended for compulsory retirement from Office to President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, pursuant to the ‘Findings’ by the Council in the petition written by Nnamdi Iro Oji against him and Hon. Justices Husseini Muktar, F. O. Akinbami and J. Y. Tukur, all Justices of Court of Appeal who sat on Election Appeal Panel in the Owerri Division of the Court during the 2015 General Elections. The Petition contains the following allegations, among others: Corruption, malice and vindictiveness; and giving perverse and conflicting decisions on the same issue in similar matters in Appeal CA/OW/EPT/SN/50/2015: Chief Dr. David Ogba Onuoha Bourdex Vs Hon. Mao Onuabunwa & Anor; CA/OW/EPT/SN/47/2015; Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu & Anor Vs Hon. Mao Ohuabunwa & Ors; and CA/OW/EPT/HR/61/2015: Nnamdi Iro Oji Vs Nkole Uko Ndukwe & 16 Ors. “During deliberations, Council found as follows:- That there was evidence that the Petitioner met with Hon. Justice Mohammed Ladan Tsamiya thrice, in his residence in Sokoto, Gwarinpa, Abuja and Owerri where on each occasion, he demanded from him the sum of N200,000.000 (Two Hundred Million Naira) to influence the Court of Appeal Panel in Owerri or risk losing the case.

“That the allegations of giving two conflicting judgements on the same matter was not true as the two judgements were in respect of two different appeals: one was in respect of House of Representative Seat, a Federal Constituency, while the other was in respect of a Senate Seat which covered one third of the State.

“That there was no allegation and no evidence that the Petitioner ever met or discussed with Hon. Justices Husseini Mukhtar (JCA), F. O. Akinbami(JCA) and J. Y. Tukur(JCA) in respect of the appeal before them. “In the Light of the foregoing that Hon. Justices Husseini Mukhtar (JCA), F. O. Akinbami(JCA) and J. Y. Tukur(JCA), were exonerated.

“Hon. Justice I. A. Umezulike, OFR, Chief Judge, Enugu State was recommended to the Governor of Enugu State, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, for compulsory retirement sequel to the findings by the Council on the following allegations levelled against him by Barrister Peter Eze:- That the Hon. Chief Judge failed to deliver Judgement in Suit No E/13/2008: Ajogwu V Nigerian Bottling Company Limited in which final Addresses were adopted on 23rd October, 2014. The judgement was however delivered on 9th March, 2015, about 126 days after addresses were adopted, contrary to constitutional provisions that judgement should be delivered within a period of 90 days.

“That Hon. Justice Umezulike, OFR, in Suit No E/159M/2014, Ezeuko Vs Probate Registrar, High Court of Enugu State and 3 Ors ordered the arrest of Mr. Peter Eze by police and be brought before his Court after the matter was amicably resolved and judgement entered on terms of Settlement.

“That the Hon. Chief Judge in a speech delivered by him to the Eastern Bar Forum on Friday 4th March, 2016, openly made uncomplimentary remarks containing vulgar language against the Petitioner, contrary to Rule 1.3 of the National Judicial Council Revised Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers.

“That at the time of the book launch of the Hon. Chief Judge, donation of N10 million was made by Prince Arthur Eze during the pendency of the two cases in His Lordship’s Court, both of which Prince Arthur Eze has vested interest.

“That there have been many instances of abuse of Judicial powers, by the Chief Judge, particularly against the two defendants in Suits Nos. E/6/2013 and E/88/2016. The Chief Judge clung to these two suits to remain in his Court, despite all genuine efforts made by the defendants to get the suits transferred to another Court.

“That the Chief Judge sitting at a vantage position of Senior Judicial Officer and Head of Court for that matter, should not have allowed his emotions to dictate his judicial functions to the detriment of the defendants in both suits. “In the case of Hon. Justice Kabiru Auta of the High Court of Justice, Kano State, he was recommended to the Kano State Governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, for dismissal and be handed over to the police for prosecution following the findings of the Council on the allegations levelled against him by Alhaji Kabiru Yakassai as follows:- That the Petitioner paid the sum of N125, 000.000.00 (One Hundred and Twenty-five Million Naira) into an account approved by the Hon. Judge.

“The Petitioner also made cash payment of N72,000,000.00 (Seventy-five Million Naira) to Hon. Justice Auta in several instalments through his Personal Assistant, Abdullahi Bello, ostensibly for the purpose of assisting a former Chief Justice of Nigeria who had just been appointed to secure accommodation and for the Petitioner to be in turn rewarded by the award of some contracts by the said Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria. That Hon. Justice Auta facilitated telephone communications in his house between the Petitioner and purportedly the former Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria on the other end.

“That Hon. Justice Auta facilitated meetings between the Petitioner and a lady who introduced herself as the purported Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria in a Prado Jeep, escorted by armed Police Officer in a hotel in Kaduna. “That after the Petitioner suspected foul play and reported the matter to the police, Hon. Justice Auta agreed to pay the Petitioner the sum of N95, 000.000.00 (Ninety-five Million Naira) as part of his claim while Abubakar Mahdi was to pay the sum of N125, 000.000.00 (One Hundred and Twenty-five Million Naira) to the Petitioner.

“That pursuant to the agreement, Hon. Justice Auta made a part payment of $11, 000.00 (Eleven Thousand U. S. Dollars) and N16,000.000.00 (Sixteen Million Naira) cash to the Petitioner and undertook to pay the balance before the commencement of the Fact Finding Committee set up by the National Judicial Council to investigate the allegations.

“That Hon. Justice Kabiru Auta admitted accepting to pay the money as agreed in AIG’s Office in Kano according to him “having suffered humiliation, and incarceration and had nowhere to go for help and in order to protect my image and the image of the judiciary”.

He however, said that the settlement was for him to pay N35 million and not N95 million and that to that effect, he paid N20 million so far including the $11,000.00; and “That Hon. Justice Kabiru stated in his evidence, that the purpose of the Petitioner visiting his house at times was that as a friend, he used to seek favours for his people who had matters before him, a conduct that is in itself self-indicting and a serious abuse of Judicial Oath.

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Source: Vanguardngr

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Supreme Court judge, William Atuguba, who spoke on behalf of the Judges at the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana today [Wednesday], demanded that judges be given what he called an enhanced leave allowance as well as entertainment allowance, among others, to compensate for their efforts at ensuring justice in the country.

According to him, considering the important role judges play in the country, such a move will significantly curb the issue of corruption in the judiciary.

“The sheer volume of litigation, the legal issues involved in almost every case and the range of research this entails are probably unknown to the public. Working under such conditions is particularly structured against a background of poor remuneration and other working conditions… and I am glad to note that, the bench in recent times has become more proactive in seeking this legitimate welfare and engaging the executive on these issues such as delayed payments of our few entitlements.”

“We call on the bar, the judicial council and the bench to coordinate their efforts and engage the Article 71 committees and other relevant authorities to press for recognition of and response to the fact that the bench has a unique and pivotal role to play in this country and its conditions of service must correspondingly be unique and should not be considered in common with any generalized policy on pay structure. In this connection, I call for legislation of an enhanced leave allowance, substantial entertainment allowance, handsome allowance to compensate for loss of private professional practice as it is enjoyed by doctors, teachers and others.”

Lower court judges threaten strike over salary increment

These demands come days after over one hundred and fifty lower court judges threatened to abandon the court if their demands for a ten percent salary increase are not adhered to.

A letter from the Chief of Staff seen by Citi News some months ago, approved the demands of the judges. But the judges indicated that, government had failed to pay their monies months after the approval.

Sources within the association told Citi News they arrived at the decision after several failed attempts to get the Finance Ministry to pay them their monies.

Lower court judges angry over salary slash

In June 2016, lower court judges issued a stern warning to government to immediately abandon a planned move to revise their conditions of service.

The judges who work in the magistrate and circuit courts across the country, said they were being short-changed with the proposal presented to them for a review of their salaries.

Speaking on behalf of the judges, His Honor Aboagye Tandor, said they will advise themselves if nothing is done about their concerns.

“Certain reforms have been done with regards to our salaries without any views or recourse to us. No inputs were made to us and we saw that there were some discrepancies so our members were of the view that the purported letter that was brought should be withdrawn.We were surprised that as members of the lower bench we would have conditions reviewed even before we are notified. You cannot review that recourse, it should be withdrawn…”

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

The post Judges demand allowance for entertainment, others appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

A letter from the Chief of Staff seen by Citi News some months ago, approved the demands of the judges.

But the judges say government has failed to pay their monies months after the approval.

Sources within the association told Citi News they arrived at the decision after several failed attempts to get the Finance Ministry to pay them their monies.

Lower court judges angry over salary slash

In June, lower court judges issued a stern warning to government to immediately abandon a planned move to revise their conditions of service.

The judges who work in the magistrate and circuit courts across the country said they were being short-changed with the proposal presented to them for a review of their salaries.

Speaking on behalf of the judges, His Honor Aboagye Tandor, said they will advise themselves if nothing is done about their concerns.

“Certain reforms have been done with regards to our salaries without any views or recourse to us. No inputs were made to us and we saw that there were some discrepancies so our members were of the view that the purported letter that was brought should be withdrawn.We were surprised that as members of the lower bench we would have conditions reviewed even before we are notified. You cannot review that recourse, it should be withdrawn…”

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By: Fred Djabanor & Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Lower court judges threaten strike over salary increment appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.