The Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana, His Lordship Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, has said the focus on judges, courtrooms and judgments in public discourse about the judiciary ignores the true foundation of justice delivery.
According to him, rather justice begins much earlier at the registry, when a process is received before hitting the courtroom
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2nd Quadrennial Delegates’ Conference of the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) at the University for Development Studies, Tamale, on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, the Chief Justice said justice begins long before a judge sits.
“Your Excellency, when the Judiciary is spoken of in public discourse, attention naturally gravitates towards judges, courtrooms and judgments. But justice does not begin when the judge enters the courtroom. It begins much earlier. It begins at the registry, when a process is received,” he stated.
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie eulogized the critical but often unseen roles played by various categories of Judicial Service staff.
“It begins with the officer who records information, the clerk who ensures that a file is where it ought to be, the bailiff who serves a process, the administrator who keeps the machinery of the court functioning, the accounts officer who ensures that financial processes are properly discharged, and the IT officer whose work may never be noticed unless something goes wrong,” he said.
“It continues through the many men and women whose names may never appear in a judgment, but without whose diligence that judgment might never be delivered.”
Describing them as “the people behind justice”, the Chief Justice said staff welfare must therefore be treated as a core part of justice administration and not as an afterthought.
“These are the people behind justice. And if we recognise that truth, then staff welfare cannot reasonably be regarded as an incidental matter, or as something to be attended to only when other institutional priorities have been exhausted. It is part of the administration of justice itself,” he emphasized.
He noted that a worker’s motivation is directly linked to institutional performance and service to the Republic.
“A person who is expected to give his or her best to an institution must have reason to believe that the institution has regard for the person behind the employee. A motivated worker is not merely a happier worker. She is more likely to be a productive worker, a committed public servant and, ultimately, a better servant of the Republic,” the Chief Justice stated.
“This is why I have consistently regarded the welfare of staff of the Judicial Service as an important institutional responsibility,” he added.
On the recent passage of the Judicial Service (Terms and Conditions of Service) Regulations, 2025 (C.I. 141), Justice Baffoe-Bonnie described it as an important step that provides a more structured framework for addressing conditions of service.
However, he cautioned that regulations alone cannot capture the full essence of welfare.
“But regulations, important as they are, cannot by themselves constitute the whole of staff welfare. Welfare has a human dimension which no regulation can entirely capture. It concerns dignity. It concerns fairness. It concerns professional development and the opportunity to progress,” he said.
“It concerns the conditions under which people are required to work. It concerns whether legitimate grievances are heard and addressed. And, perhaps most importantly, it concerns whether the institution has created an environment in which a person can give her best without feeling that the institution is indifferent to the person who gives that service.”
The Chief Justice concluded with a principle he said applies beyond the Judicial Service.
“An institution that expects loyalty from its people must itself demonstrate that it is worthy of that loyalty. That is a principle which extends well beyond the Judicial Service,” he said.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
