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Any constitutional review must strengthen governance-Fiadjoe
Accra, Oct. 11, Ghanadot/GNA - The review of Ghana's
constitution must go beyond the mere altering of text to
developing sustainable governance structures on the ground, Dr.
Albert K. Fiadjoe, Professor Emeritus of Public Law has said in
Accra.
He said the amendment to the constitution must encompass a study
of how to build governance structures through institutional
strengthening mechanisms and the establishment of benchmarks for
performance.
The Professor was speaking at an inaugural lecture of the Ghana
Academy of Arts and Sciences on the topic: "The Public Law of
Ghana -A Tale of Two Legal Systems".
"This could be done by developing constitutional conventions
which would represent the customary norms and practices that
keep the constitution current and relevant even with the
changing times."
Besides, he said, the Supreme Court must develop a regime of
constitutional interpretation as an alternative to constant
amendments to the constitution.
He said a critical assessment of the 1992 constitution showed
that while constitutional structures of government were fully in
place; governance structures were still not developed.
Prof. Fiadjoe said the dissonance between constitutionally
guaranteed fundamental rights and the practical considerations
for enforcement on the ground was an ample demonstration of the
lack of governance structures.
"There is a great deal of dissonance between the lofty ideals of
the Constitution, the law in practice and the lived reality of
our lives," he said.
For example, freedom from arbitrary arrest can only be
meaningful in the context of a well-trained and disciplined
police force. In the field of politics, we still do not have an
Integrity Commission to act as a check on the exercise of
political power. We still maintain colonial laws on state
secrecy, and we have not had the courage to enact a freedom of
Information legislation.
"Our public service is consumed with the remnants of General
Orders from the colonial era that are for most part unresponsive
to modern demands. Our law of defamation is in discord with the
high ideal for open governance, espoused by the constitution."
Touching on the justice system, Prof. Fiadjoe said the legal
system was not only inaccessible to the poor but it is becoming
increasingly out of reach for the large majority of the
citizens.
He said in its current form, the legal system had failed to
address properly the myriad of problems which confront the
ordinary person daily.
Prof. Fiadjoe called for urgent reforms of the legal system and
made a plea for Alternative Dispute Resolution as a national
primary tool since it promoted fairness, speed, informality,
flexibility of outcomes and lower cost.
Other gains are deepening access to justice for the citizen,
boosting investor confidence in the transparency of the legal
system, helping with the early resolution of conflicts, freeing
up the courts from the backlog and delays which attend the trial
process and sowing the seeds of peaceful conflict resolution as
a national ethic.
GNA
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