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Momodou
Denmark
11804 Posts |
 Posted - 12 Mar 2010 : 18:48:34
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Dailynews Editorial Appointments Of High Court Judges Is Welcome
One cannot but applaud the appointment of judges at the High Court. We have seen an increase in the number of judges in our courts these days, since the appointment of the current Chief Justice. He and his team have to be commended for that.
The President of the republic has to be commended for encouraging the growing number of judges at all levels of our courts. It is also interesting to note that the President does have an interest in the justice delivery system of the country. At the beginning of this week when the newly appointed judges of the High Court were taking oaths President Jammeh was on quote that he is keenly following all court cases. He told the audience that he is interested in all no matter what case it is. And that he wants to see justice done without delay.
However what is most interesting here is that sometimes people think it is the number of judges that matter most in justice delivery. Yes, that cannot be completely ruled out, but there is more to justice delivery than appointment of more judges.
However, no matter the number of competent judges one may have at our courts, if there are no cases before them we wonder how those judges can help in delivering justice. The judges will only occupy their seats at the various courts and no justice will ever be delivered.
What therefore matters most is for the prosecuting arm of the Attorney General’s Chambers to effectively take its rightful place. It is the prosecution that can put accused persons before judges for them to be available for trial. If that opportunity is lost there cannot be justice.
In the absence of a proper prosecuting mechanism, many who are presumed innocent until proven guilty by proper courts will only rot in our police cells, other detention camps, and mile two remand wing. Something needs be done to decongest those cells.
Who could have imagined that there could be an accused person in our detention camps for more that thirteen (13) years? Who since 31 July 1997 was never brought before any courts? One who has been under custody for 13 years without charges? Incredible is it not? Where is the justice delivery mechanism that one can be proud of when we have citizens or non citizens rotting in our remand wings?
Unless our prisons, remand wings and other detention centers are decongested we as a nation have very little pride to boast off. The system needs to put in place a strong prosecuting mechanism that will be able to prosecute offenders in the shortest possible time. Our cells should not hold people on suspicion without charge or brought before competent courts for any time longer than 72 hours as our constitution stipulates.
In as much as we applaud the increase in the number of High Court judges in our justice system we want to see a decongested prison remand wing. Apart from the single case of Abdourahaman Baldeh, we have a lot more others who have spent a minimum of two to fives years in our remand wings waiting for justice.
We would like to add our voice to many other rights defenders, that government set up a special team composed of lawyers, the Red Cross, African Center for Human Rights Studies, the African Union office here, and religious leaders to review cases that are all gone far beyond the constitutional limit of 72 hours. Such reviews can also be at liberty to make recommendations as to what should be done with cases where captives have not been given their fundamental rights. No person should be detained for more that 72 hours without trial, not to talk of years.
Where then are our human rights? Somebody’s rights are being trampled upon. It is either the one who is being held without due process of the law or the one who is being offended. In this case it can be that of a person or the state. However the onus of decongesting our detention wings is on government. It can only be done when both the prosecution and the courts comply.
Source: Dailynews
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