HER LADYSHIP CHIEF JUSTICE WOOD’S VISION
FOR JUDICIAL EDUCATION

In Chief Justice Georgina Wood’s vision for the future of the Judicial Service, education plays a leading role. “I envision a credible, trustworthy, efficient and effective judiciary,” says Chief Justice Wood, adding that, “it is not enough to have good mechanisms and system, we also need good people, people with integrity.” Achieving these human resource goals starts with judicial education and the activities of the Judicial Training Institute (JTI).l “I see the JTI as one of the key institutions within the Judiciary. I am hoping that the JTI will play a formidable role in reshaping our judges and administrative staff.” In the Chief Justice’s vision, all training for members of the Judicial Service will be administered by the JTI. To empower the JTI in its role as the primary training institution in the Judicial Service, the Chief Justice intends to direct resources towards the Institute in order to facilitate the development of what she describes as a “powerful, effective institution”.

Remarking on the changes that the JTI has undergone in recent years, the Chief Justice describes the Institute’s transformation as “phenomenal” and plans on continuing the reforms initiated by the late Chief Justice Kingsley Acquah. Chief Justice Wood is also very interested in the experiences of both other public institutions and judicial bodies in other jurisdictions, noting that the Judicial Service can look to these experiences for lessons on how to best integrate training and education into the Judicial Service. She will also support the work of the JTI Board Chairman, Justice Prof. Tawiah Modibo Ocran who she describes as having the extensive experience in academics and technical knowledge to guide the JTI in the pursuit of its objectives.

One of Chief Justice Wood’s goals for the JTI is the recruitment of a faculty made up primarily of members of the judiciary. This faculty is both a means of ensuring judicial independence and vital to improving the capacity of the JTI. The Chief Justice also sees another benefit of enlisting the support of the Judiciary as educators. “There is no better way of improving your own knowledge than teaching others. Teaching compels you to research and it also builds confidence”. She draws on her own experiences as a resource person for a JTI training programme on assessment of damages, remarking that the experience compelled her to sharpen and expand her own knowledge on the subject. The Chief Justice also sees an additional benefit of supporting the education of fellow members of the Judicial Service, remarking that teaching “helps build rapport and general goodwill among the community of judges”.

With regards to efforts to efforts to institutionalize education and training within the Judicial Service, Chief Justice Wood advocates the use of participation in training programmes as a criterion for career advancement. In this way, “people will not come up with excuses for staying away from training, but instead take training seriously.” It will also improve the Judicial Service as a whole by ensuring that individual are hold the requisite skills and knowledge to fulfil all of their professional responsibilities.

In addition to the changes and growth the Chief Justice envisions for the organizational and structural capacity of the JTI, she also has ideas for the content of training programme. In the future, Chief Justice Wood would like to see integrity issues as one of the key components of the JTI’s education agenda. She also encourages a focus on the education of judges and magistrates, rather than administration and support staff, because, “if judges are properly trained they can rework and manage the administrative staff to that we can achieve the goals we have set out for ourselves”.

“THERE IS NO BETTER WAY OF IMPORVING

YOUR KNOWLEDGE THAN

TEACHING OTHERS”

It is clear that Chief Justice Wood is committed to the strengthening of the JTI and the expansion of education and training within the Judicial Service. Under her leadership, members of the Judicial Service can look forward to improving both their own professional capacities and that of their colleagues.