His Excellency, the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo,

The Hon. Attorney–General and Minister for Justice,

Hon. Regional Minster,

Honourable Justices herein present,

Nana, the President of the Regional House of Chiefs,

The National President and other Executive Members of the Ghana Bar Association,

Presidents and Executive Members of the various Regional Bar Associations,

Past Presidents of the Ghana Bar Association,

Distinguished Members of the Ghana Bar, Ladies and Gentlemen;

I am most delighted and privileged to address the Ghana Bar Association at this important annual gathering, which, as usual, presages a new Legal Year, and serves as an opportunity for the Profession to focus on topical issues underpinning our nation’s development. This is my first time of addressing this forum as Chief Justice and I warmly greet you whilst, at the same time, conveying due regards from the entire Judiciary of Ghana.

The focus of my address this morning is on the Developmental Impact of Excellence. I chose this topic so it would serve as a vehicle for conveying to you my passionate belief that we can only make meaningful and enduring progress as a nation, if our development agenda is driven by the pursuit of excellence across the various facets of human progress in general and in the delivery of justice, in particular.

The age-old axiom –“Change is a law of life” – sums up the fact that human life and all that makes it possible is in a constant flux. The better that flux, or change, in a positive direction, the better the outcome; that positive direction of change is what we call “development”.

All human activity is essentially inspired by development or the quest for conceptually better circumstances than those prevailing. At times, however, the pursuit of change might take the form of destructiveness and what society at large would consider to be disorderly and undesirable because its change outcomes are calculated to serve parochial or personal benefits rather than the greater good of the national ends.

In effect, there is change that supports life, and there is change that spells eventual doom. It is all a matter of the quality of the agenda.  Hence the steps the Judiciary has taken to play its part in the national fight against galamsey through the designation of some courts to try persons involved in illegal mining. The scope and number of these courts will soon be expanded to cover illegal activities that deplete our forests, erode our soil, and destroy the viability of our precious water bodies.

On the other hand, when the quest for change is pursued with a broader goal, and in a responsible manner, improvement of the socio-economic circumstances of the people is achieved through the provision of amenities such as quality health infrastructure and services, educational facilities, improved agricultural outcomes and the assurance of jobs through the creation of factories and industries resulting in sustainable development.

Thus, from the foregoing demonstration, development is attainable at varying levels and degrees of responsibility and prudence. At one extreme, we may focus on development through the strict application of laid down rules, standards, regulations, processes and procedures. At the other end, developmental outcomes can still be attained even with the flouting of relevant norms for responsibility or the cutting of corners, aimed at personal, temporal or parochial gratification. Safeguarding the higher and desirable end of achieving development through responsible practices and prudence is the pursuit or espousal of excellence.

In the mutual pursuit of assurance of justice for all Ghanaians, for whom both the Bench and Bar exist, excellence is an imperative. The constant self-enquiry must be whether we would rather achieve development through inferior, unproductive or negative practices or through a strife for excellence in outcomes. ‘Can we do what we do in a better way?’ ‘Is this as good as it gets or could it be better’?

We are all familiar with the grading structure of the pre-tertiary school system that ascribes to varying levels of performance, grades from Fail, to Pass, Fair, Credit, Average, Good, Very Good and to the highest grade which is Excellent. Again, in the tertiary institutions, to gain an A⁺ is the mark of excellence. Excellence is thus the highest level of achievement or performance that presumes the application of the best or greatest effort in a field of endeavour.

Throughout history, and in every human culture, excellent outcomes in every effort has been seen as meriting its own rewards and benefits, sustainable development in an environment of peace and stability is also such reward. Hence, in a democratic nation governed by the rule of law and practices aimed at the highest possible levels of progress, the pursuit and application of standards of excellence in all endeavours is key to achieving the best developmental outcomes.

Let us now look at the nexus between excellence and development.

Excellence, as opposed to mediocrity, leads to focused personal and systemic application which results in higher quality and levels of productivity. When workers of public as well as private institutions put into their work the best possible effort, eschewing laziness and absenteeism, the result is increased levels of positive input that invariably yields a higher quantum of products and services. Higher quantum of products and services means there is enough to go around and a surplus to market, both internally and externally; this garners more resources for development and rewards for the workforce.

Excellence in the provision of education at all levels leads to quality products from our educational institutions. Excellent graduates at all levels of the educational spectrum ensure quality human resources to effectively and efficiently man the engine of growth and development of the nation. This is a sector with a crucial need for excellence, for all involved in the educational enterprise, be they learners, tutors, administrators or policy makers, because of the importance of training the nation’s future manpower. Where excellence fails in this sector, the overall outcome is mediocrity and incompetence. Where such outcome impacts on the Justice delivery sector, there is proliferation of half-baked lawyers for instance.

Excellence, however, is not only to be expected in the provision of goods and services. Excellence is equally important in our attitudes. For those who are familiar with the teachings of the Bible, Jesus, in the Gospel of Matthew 5:48, admonishes his followers, thus, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” The particular context in which Christ calls on His followers to be perfect is in our attitude towards our fellow man, especially His expectation that we forgive our enemies and deal graciously with those who spite us and to work diligently while observing the highest standards of integrity. The synthesis of this quality is to love our neighbours as ourselves. Loving our neighbours as ourselves is commonly understood to mean not engaging in conduct that exploit them and put them at an unnecessary and undeserved disadvantage. Excellence, or perfection, the highest possible standard of being, is achievable, otherwise God would not expect it of us.

Excellence in our attitudes also translates into discipline: Discipline on our roads would lead to a drastic reduction in road crashes and thus less injuries and loss of lives; discipline in our communities would lead to proper disposal of waste and better sanitation practices; discipline in our homes would ensure healthier marital and family relations which further translate into an effective and focused workforce, and confident, well-developed children; and certainly discipline in our offices, workplaces and the performance of our duties and responsibilities, leads to efficiency and exclusion of financial and professional malfeasance.

Distinguished Members of the Bar, our profession is especially tasked with the responsibility of moderating attitudes, within the context of law, order and the rule of law, towards excellence. In our day-to-day work in advocacy, administration and delivery of justice, the onus rests on us, individually and collectively, to bring out the best in every citizen, and to make deviancy a less desirable option. As the Law seeks outcomes that uphold freedom, justice and the rights of all, it is equally mandated to expect, indeed, demand responsibility of citizens to observe rules and regulations that make society function and function well. A well-functioning society is well on the path of irreversible development.

But he or she who comes to equity must come with clean hands. A noble profession such as ours requires that we do not act like taskmasters who burden our subjects or clients with obligations which we will not ourselves be subject to. The truism is that: “No one is above the Law.” The morality and equity that this principle engenders must encourage all segments of society to unreservedly give their best efforts to the development process.

Furthermore, our privileged positions and exposure ought not to become an avenue for professional malfeasance and depredation that casts doubt on integrity, creates public mistrust and breeds disaffection and ill-will against our members as a group, as well as against the justice delivery process. Such disaffection and ill-will would inevitably undermine the effectiveness of judicial outcomes and poses a grave danger to national stability as it has a tendency to lead to increase in public resort to self-help.

The public’s just expectations from the justice delivery process places a charge on us to observe the optimal compliance with the ethics governing the Bench and the Bar. Strict application of our ethical codes and norms is the straight route to excellence in the advocacy, administration and delivery of justice which is the linchpin of effective and accelerated development. A lawless society is a society going nowhere and it is also the loudest condemnation of that society’s Judges and Lawyers.

Permit me at this point to acknowledge that it is true that our existing justice delivery system is fraught with a myriad of challenges (both systemic and human) that undermine its smooth and efficient operation. These challenges do not conduce to the delivery of excellence in judicial administration and it is for these reasons that, as Chief Justice, I will bring into application all such feasible systems and means as will effectively deal with such challenges and optimize the delivery of quality outcomes. Our pursuit of excellence is borne out of a conviction and recognition of the duty we owe to the people of Ghana in whose name and for whose benefit we exercise judicial authority.  Our citizens, more than anyone else, deserve a justice delivery system that is easily accessible and works well to protect their lives and property, that is cost and time effective and, more importantly, safeguards the integrity of the Republic.

The rapid and continuous deployment of Information Communication Technology in the Justice sector is one of the key ways in which we can assure excellence in justice delivery. A few weeks ago, the Judiciary hosted a meeting of the key players in the administration of justice to discuss the design and implementation of an Integrated Case Tracking System for the Justice sector in Ghana. The system, when fully established and deployed, will be able to track criminal cases from their introduction into the system to their eventual disposal by the courts. The system will engender the inter-agency linkages necessary for the effective operation of the machinery of the administration of criminal justice.

In the last decade under the e-justice programme, there have been many significant developments in the application of technology toward the delivery of timely justice, such as the introduction of the Electronic Case Management System to monitor work flow in order to facilitate the speedy hearing or trial of cases with the view to improving the turnaround time for the disposal of cases assigned to our Judges. The time has come to take this to the next level and position the Judicial Service to integrate the application of technology throughout the judicial process and track all stages.

For the business community, particularly investors both local and foreign, an efficient justice delivery system which guarantees expeditious results and produces certainty of judicial outcomes is a great incentive for business and the acceleration of national development. This reinforces the necessity that every level of court in every part of Ghana be fully automated if we are to deliver justice in an efficient and effective manner, which brings me to the next point.

 I appreciate the fact that automation of our courts nationwide invariably requires the availability of power to make it fully functional. Fortunately, there have been rapid improvements in the availability of alternative and renewable energy and thus the requisite power to drive our technology-based changes need not be sourced from Akosombo. Thus, serious consideration has been given to the application of Solar Energy in the plans for new and refurbished court buildings throughout the country, from the district level up. It is more reliable and will allow the Judiciary to reduce its expenditure on electricity and channel saved resources into other key areas.

 As we strive to improve the physical/logistical infrastructure that supports the justice delivery system, we must not forget that buildings and machines of themselves do not guarantee efficiency and excellence in our processes. It is the human beings who work the efficiency machines that deliver desirable results. It is for this reason that we have chosen as the theme for the new Legal Year, "Quality Judges Delivering Quality Justice". I am sure there will be ample opportunity to expatiate further on this at another forum. Suffice it to say that I strongly urge that, as players in the Justice sector, we must all pay more attention to human capacity building through continuous professional development all along the service delivery chain for lawyers both in private practice and in the employment of the State, police prosecutors among others.  The Judiciary, particularly in recent years, has sought opportunities for post-graduate studies for our Judges in various law disciplines to promote excellence and scholarship on the Bench. In tandem with this, greater emphasis will be placed on programmed continuous judicial education through the Judicial Training Institute (the JTI) to ensure that through all means of educational mechanisms the performance of all Judges is improved and expanded. With the requisite resources, the JTI will be geared towards becoming a centre of excellence for Judicial Education in Africa, offering training and sensitization programmes across the members states of the African Union.    

As you begin your deliberations at the 2017 Bar Conference, I urge you all, to critically assess and make far-reaching recommendations on the developmental impact of excellence in all that we are called to do and commit to the implementation and application of such recommendations.

Thank you. God Bless our Homeland Ghana, and may His blessings fall on us too. 

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