Justice In Profile
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Georgina T. Wood
By: Carolyn Dubay, Editorial Assistant and Reporter, International Judicial Monitor
Her Ladyship the Chief Justice, Mrs. Georgina Theodora Wood of the Supreme Court of Ghana is making her mark in the Judicial Service of Ghana, not just as the first woman to serve as the head of the Republic of Ghana’s judiciary, but also as a judicial reformer focused on improving access to justice and enhancing the public’s trust in the court system. Turning away from violence to resolve disputes and towards judicial resolution and the rule of law is considered central to Ghana’s hopes for continued development and future prosperity.
Chief Justice Wood, born on June 8, 1947, received her law degrees from the University of Ghana, Legon (LLB) and the Ghana School of Law, and began her career in law enforcement as a public prosecutor in the early 1970s. She joined the Judicial Service of Ghana in 1974, first as a district magistrate, later rising to positions on the Circuit and High Courts. On November 12, 2003, she was appointed to the Supreme Court of Ghana. She also served as a justice of the Supreme Court of The Gambia when in session, from 2003 - 2007. As a justice, Her Ladyship was actively engaged in improving access to justice and public accountability through her work as chair of the Judicial Service’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Mechanism. She served as an external examiner in Advocacy and Ethics at the Ghana School of Law. After serving nearly four years as a justice, she was nominated and then appointed as the Chief Justice of Ghana, assuming office on June 15, 2007. Awards the Chief Justice has won include the following:
University of Ghana Faculty of Law - OUTSTANDING JUDICIAL CAREER
The Highest State National Award- ORDER OF THE STAR OF GHANA
University of Ghana- LLD HONORIS CAUSA
Since becoming Chief Justice of Ghana in 2007, Justice Woodhas put a number of programs into action to achieve her ambitious goals for reforming Ghana’s judicial system. In all of her initiatives, Chief Justice Wood has expressed the overarching theme of the judicial service to enhance public confidence in judicial resolution of disputes and to promote access to justice throughout Ghana. Her efforts to promote access to justice in Ghana have been wide-reaching and diverse, from promoting alternative dispute resolution and specialized courts to improving public confidence in the judiciary to seeking government support for new courthouses and judicial infrastructure.
Improving
Access to Justice through Enhanced ADR Programs
Chief
Justice Wood has been a trailblazer in the implementation of alternative
dispute resolution (ADR) procedures in Ghana’s court system. Her goal is for
ADR programs to be offered in all courts in Ghana by 2013. Indeed, she chaired
the committees which authored the court-connected ADR manuals for both Ghana, (including the Commercial Court), and The Gambia. Under her leadership, the Judicial
Service has also created a separate National ADR Directorate and organized
training programs for mediators and ADR officers. Ghana’s ADR program is part
of the overall court system’s Judicial Reform Program (JRP) aimed at reducing
the huge backlog of cases pending in the courts. By offering a more flexible,
efficient and less expensive alternative to litigation with qualified and
respected personnel, the Judicial Service under the Chief Justice hopes to
attract more citizens to legal resolution of disputes. Importantly, the ADR
program will also serve to boost economic development by attracting
international businesses to Ghana through development of commercial
arbitration, negotiation, mediation and conciliation.
Improving
Access to Justice through Judicial Infrastructure Development and Specialized
Courts
Chief
Justice Wood has also overseen the opening of a number of new courthouse
facilities and other infrastructure programs to improve access to justice and
efficiency in the delivery of judicial services. Notably, she has achieved
these initiatives through successful cooperation with other branches of the
government, as well as traditional leaders in local communities in Ghana. For example, the Judicial Service inaugurated a new circuit courthouse in the
Ejisu-Juaben municipality through rehabilitation of an abandoned native court
building. The project was the direct result of an appeal by the Chief Justice
to tribal leadership to generate closer collaboration between traditional
authorities and the Judicial Service in the delivery of justice in the
country. Other projects continue throughout Ghana to build new courthouses
and create or house specialized courts. These specialized courts include:
family law and juvenile courts; domestic violence courts; facilities for the
new Court of Appeal; economic and financial crimes courts; land courts such as
the Investment Related Land Court, the Industrial Court; and the Human Rights
Court. The Chief Justice’s infrastructure program also includes a focus on
e-governance and computerization, such as providing more technical and
automation equipment to High and Circuit Courts dealing with specialized cases.
Enhancing
Public Trust in the Judiciary through Improved Education, Capacity and
Accountability
Understanding
that the public trust in Ghana’s judiciary depends on the work of well-trained,
well-staffed and ethical judicial officers and personnel, Chief Justice Wood
has overseen the implementation of a new group of programs to ensure these
needs. Such programs include: introducing a code of conduct for judges, magistrates
and staff; monitoring and evaluating the performance of judges and magistrates;
introducing the use of law clerks at the Supreme Court of Ghana; working with
donor partners to improve the quality of judicial education provided at the
Judicial Training Institute (including training on evidence, opinion-writing,
and case management); and increasing the number of manuals and publications
available to judicial personnel (on topics ranging from ADR to access to
justice to resolution of election disputes). To combat fraud, Her Ladyship
has inaugurated the Judicial Service Audit Report Implementation Committee
(ARIC) to identify operational and financial risks to support a strategic plan
to improve the finances and management of the judiciary.
Enhancing
the Public Trust through Dialogue and Understanding of the Judiciary’s Role
Part
of building the public trust in Ghana’s judiciary also involves significant
outreach by Chief Justice Wood to open communication with members of the bench
and bar, other government officials, local and traditional leaders and Ghana’s youth about the central role a well-functioning and independent judiciary plays in
securing the rule of law. She has initiated a mentoring program for high
school students to encourage youth interest in and education about the role of
the judiciary, and to attract talented youth to careers in the judicial
service. She has also spoken publicly about the need for Ghanaians to provide
constructive criticism and engage in dialogue with the courts to improve their
reputation and efficiency. As a further part of her outreach efforts, the
Chief Justice has also participated in regional forums to develop strategies
for the administration of justice at the local level and has initiated steps to
revive the bench, bar and faculty program to address complex legal matters.
About
Ghana’s Judicial System
Ghana's legal system is a mixture of
constitutional norms, Anglo-Saxon common law (derived from its colonial
heritage), statutory law, and other legal documents. There is also a body of
largely unwritten customary usages and practices still in use in the modem
legal system of Ghana. The judicial system features five levels of courts:
district courts, circuit courts, the High Court, the Court of Appeal, and the
Supreme Court. The Supreme Court as the highest appellate court has authority
to interpret and enforce the constitution and laws of Ghana, and has the power of judicial review. More information on the Supreme Court of
Ghana can be found at http://www.judicial.gov.gh/
International
Judicial Monitor