Forensic accounting professor and Lawyer, Prof. Stephen Kwaku Asare has commended Prof Raymond Atuguba on his research which sought to establish the political leanings of Supreme court judges by linking their voting trends to the political parties that appoint them.
Prof Stephen Kwaku Asare speaking Saturday, February 17 on Newsfile said the lawyer simply engaged in empirical research which establishes a phenomenon that is not entirely surprising.
According to him, the perception that judges can make decisions based on their political leanings is widely held, even though they are expected to be neutral.
"Judges are also human beings and they read and interpret the law through their philosophical lenses. Most often, presidents do appoint the panel of judges based on their judicial philosophies and how well they think it matches their preference of interpreting the law."
Responding to the view of Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo that the research was not suitable for the Ghanaian environment, Prof Asare stated that it is not the case. He argued that it is an academic research and as such should be embraced despite the fact that it causes some discomfort. He added that education and similar findings should rather be encouraged to help improve the democracy of the country.
Prof Raymond Atuguba's research
Prof Atuguba, on Thursday, presented a research at the 2018 GIMPA Law Conference which sought to establish that the voting pattern of judges of the Supreme Court was influenced by the political party that appointed them.
He explained that he analyzed one hundred political cases in Ghana and found that the voting patterns of the justices favoured the parties which appointed them.
“It is not a coincidence that this happened...and it will soon be discovered by the general populace and it may be too late then to gain public trust and respect for the court. The time to act is now,†Prof Atuguba urged.
His findings, however, infuriated the justices of the Supreme court who were present at the conference.
Justice Jones Dotse, who was at the conference sternly disapproved Prof Atuguba’s findings saying that the entire research was an insult to the judges.
“You are entitled to your views, but I think it is an insult of the highest order.â€, he retorted.