The Ghana Bar Association (GBA), has expressed worry over the poor working and service conditions of judges in the country.
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.
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.
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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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
