Source: newsthemegh.com
Justice Gertrude Araba Esabaa Torkornoo, a candidate for chief justice, has warned the public against the practice of donating money to certain people to be provided to judges in order to influence their decisions.
According to her, the alleged funds frequently find up in the coffers of the people who collect them rather than the judges.
Justice Torkornoo stated during her vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament today [Friday, May 26, 2023] that the public should not allow the idea that judges can be swayed by money because it is alien to the legal profession.
According to her, some people have developed a business where they take advantage of innocent people whose cases are in court by telling them that if money is provided to judges, it will help to sway justice in their favor.
Justice Torkornoo used an analogy to illustrate her point that judges do not accept payments in exchange for their decisions, claiming that nine out of ten people who do so secretly end up pocketing the cash.
“Don’t give money to people to be taken to judges,” she admonished, pointing out that one of the reasons people lose legal cases is because their attorneys occasionally do not follow proper processes while presenting their clients’ arguments.
We refer to this market as judicial predators. We continuously work to address the large predatory group that surrounds our job in our ethical training for both judges and workers, she added.
Justice Torkornoo expressed concern that, regrettably, some people have accepted the notion that courts will grant their requests if money is offered to them.
“Unfortunately, that perception has become the norm… Our work is quite complex, and occasionally people lose cases because they disobeyed the norms of the court, the rules of evidence, or the principles of substantive law. and as a result, they fail the case and are confused. Law is complicated; thus, law school is complicated. As a result, when people lose cases, they frequently wonder why they lost and then come up with all kinds of theories, she said.
In order for the people to better understand how the law operates and how cases are decided, Justice Torkornoo has pledged to connect with them.