Judges should be elected – Inusah Fuseini

A former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Inusah Fuseini has opined Ghana can learn from other countries in order to strengthen the judiciary. He said the judiciary is the weakest link in Ghana’s democracy due to the fact that it can easily be manipulated to suit a particular president’s needs. To this end, he said judges to the courts should be elected.

In giving instances where countries use the ballot paper to select judges for their courts, he named Japan and the United States.

Speaking on Key Points on TV3 on October 28, the Tamale Central lawmaker said, “In Japan and the lower courts of the United States, to solve this problem they say go and put yourself up for elections and get elected so that we will see what you can do. If you fail to deliver then we vote you out. So in those courts, the judges derive their authority and mandate from the people.”

There is no limit to the number of justices that can be on the Supreme Court bench at a time, a loophole often exploited by politicians. Inusah Fuseini said there have been recommendations to cap the number, a way to deal with that loophole.

He said, “The Africa Peer Review Committee during the time of President Kufuor suggested or recommended that we cap appointments to the Supreme Court. The Africa Peer Review committee was not constituted only by Ghanaians but they saw clearly the perceptible situation where a president who is ambitious could manipulate appointment to the Supreme Court.”

Also, Mr Fuseini added that the Supreme Court remains Ghana’s weakest link, saying it is because the judges are appointed by the President.

“It is true that the Supreme Court is the weakest link because they are not voted for, they are appointed, and when they are appointed their decisions are final so any president who is overly ambitious might want to control that arm of government.”

How are judges appointed in Japan?

In Japan, there are 14 justices of the Supreme Court with the Chief Justice. All the 14 judges are appointed by the cabinet. The Chief Justice is appointed by the Emperor upon designation by the cabinet. The general public has the power through election to confirm or otherwise the status of a judge, during the next general election after the appointment of a justice. Also, the electorates review the status of a judge after a 10-year tenure.

Also in the United States, at least half of the states hold either partisan or non-partisan elections to elect either all or most of the judges to the state courts. Half of the states elect the judges to the state supreme court.