Pro-Bono Cases Should Be Mandatory To Renewal Of Lawyers’ Licences – Justice Dotse

A Supreme Court judge has asked the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) to make it mandatory for all lawyers to show evidence of pro-bono cases before their licences are renewed.

Justice Jones Victor Dotse said any country that did not pay attention to remand cases was heading towards disaster and urged lawyers to also take up cases of convicts who needed assistance.

He said there were other convicts who, because of one or to two issues, did not have their cases looked through properly, hence needed lawyers to assist them to take a second look at their cases by way of filing an appeal.

Speaking at the Akuse Local Prison in the Eastern Region during the sittings of the Justice for All Programme (JFAP) Friday, Mr Dotse said security services did not have the right to keep people in custody without trial.

“If you have evidence put the person before court for trial after assembling all your witnesses.”

Mr Justice Dotse noted that keeping people on remand for a long time without trial did not infringed on Ghana’s Constitution alone but acted as an indictment on the country.

“It is also an indictment on the judicial system if we put people on remand without trial for six to seven years,” he said.

He said often than not the Police blamed the Judiciary for releasing people through the JFAP but stated “if you arrest someone you must tell the person his or her offence, assemble witnesses and put him or her before court for trial to commence.”

The Supreme Court judge paid glowing tribute to the Danish Government for supporting the JFAP for the past 10 years.

Tove Degubol, the Ambassador of Denmark, who sat through the JFA Court Sittings, was elated with the positive results of the Programme.

He said there had been a 14 per cent reduction in the over 33 per cent remand cases since the commencement of the JFAP.

She appealed to the government to consider legal changes to ensure that people convicted in minor offences were allowed to engage in community work.

“Those released should also be taken care of so they could properly be integrated into society.”