Ghana’s leadership in the rule of law on the African continent and the strength of its justice system were acknowledged by the newly appointed Attorney-General of the United Kingdom, the Rt Hon Michael Ellis QC.
This happened during a meeting between the Attorney-General of Ghana, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame and the UK Attorney-General on Thursday, 8th September 2022, at his office in the House of Commons.
Ghana’s Attorney-General had been the guest of Cambridge University for its 39th Annual Symposium on Economic Crime at which he gave an address on 5th September 2022.
The meeting with Mr Dame happened to be the first official meeting with any guest for the Rt Hon Michael Ellis QC, who had been appointed as Attorney-General by the new Prime Minister only a day before.
Present at the meeting were the High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to Ghana, Harriet Thompson and the High Commissioner of Ghana to the United Kingdom, Paapa Owusu-Ankomah.
Mr Dame expressed his appreciation for being the first guest of the Attorney-General of England and Wales on his first full day at work. He underscored the need for closer cooperation between his office and the Office of the Attorney-General in the United Kingdom since the two outfits perform similar and important roles in the administration of justice in their jurisdictions with similar legal systems.
The two Attorneys-General went on to discuss issues bordering on economic crime, a reform of the criminal justice to achieve speedy and efficient delivery of justice, the application of the death penalty, and the roles of their offices in the drafting of legislation in their respective countries as well as other matters of mutual concern to Ghana and the United Kingdom.
The UK Attorney-General expressed his deep appreciation for the position taken by the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This, he indicated, was exemplary and underscored the status of Ghana as a strong voice on global issues.
On criminal justice, the Rt Hon Michael Ellis QC acknowledged efforts by Ghana to reform its criminal jurisprudence through the introduction of plea bargaining, pursuant to the efforts of the Attorney-General of Ghana, and hoped that it would be implemented efficiently so as to achieve the ends it is expected to serve for the nation.
Mr Dame informed the UK Attorney-General of his intentions to strengthen legal aid as a vehicle for boosting access to justice and requested for collaboration with his counterpart in that regard. He also indicated that there was huge discontent in Ghana about trials with a jury and that, he was seriously considering sponsoring a bill for Parliament to scrap the jury trial system.
The UK Attorney-General expressed his willingness to assist in any way possible as a strong justice system is fundamental to every facet of the life of every nation.
