“We are much aware of the vacancies that exist in the judicial hierarchy. We are working on it. As a matter of fact, among those of you who know, about 127 magistrates have been interviewed. We are waiting for clearance,” he said. 

Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie said this at the opening of the 45th Annual Conference of the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana (AMJG) in Accra.  Courts& Judiciary

The two-day conference is being held on the theme: “Balance Beyond the Bench – Harmonising Duty, Justice and Life.” 

The Chief Justice was responding to an appeal by Mr Samuel Afotey Otu, President of the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana, for the filling of vacancies at the lower  courts, saying some magistrates had to shuttle between two or three courts, which overburdened them. 

Touching on the theme, Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie said it was apt because it challenged judges to look beyond the courtroom without losing sight of their responsibilities in the administration of justice. 

The Chief Justice recounted how he had recently come under criticism for attending some public events instead of remaining in his office. 

“I have, in recent times, run into some trouble in this office precisely because I allowed my humanity to overtake my official restraint,” he said. 

“There have been occasions when I have attended public events to honour close friends and relatives, and others when, in my capacity as Chair of the Council for Legal Education and Training, I have undertaken official visits and engagements where perhaps the safer course would have been to remain behind the walls of the office.” 

“But these experiences have also reminded me of something important: we must never abandon our humanity simply because we have assumed judicial office.” 

“The robe may require restraint, discipline and distance, but it must never require us to cease being human.” 

Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie said the Judiciary often focused on institutional issues such as judgments, case backlogs, judicial independence, efficiency, technology and access to justice. 

“All these things matter. But behind every judgment is a human being who has had to read, listen, deliberate and decide,” he said. 

“Behind every robe is a person with a family, friendships, responsibilities, worries, hopes and, occasionally, the simple desire to go home and have a quiet evening without somebody asking for a ruling. We sometimes forget this.” 

He observed that judicial office demanded much from those who occupied it. 

“It demands intellectual discipline, emotional restraint, patience, courage and, above all, the capacity to carry the burdens of other people’s disputes without allowing those burdens to consume one’s own life.” 

The Chief Justice encouraged judges to learn how to balance their professional responsibilities with their personal lives and ensure that neither compromised the other. 

“Balance, however, does not mean giving less to duty. It means understanding that duty is better discharged by a person who is not permanently exhausted, isolated or consumed by the office,” he said. 

He said the Judiciary required judges who were intellectually alive, emotionally grounded and physically capable of meeting the demands of the office. 

“We must, therefore, create a judicial culture in which excellence is expected, but humanity is not regarded as weakness,” the Chief Justice added. 

He said the privileges of judicial office came with corresponding obligations.  Courts& Judiciary

“We have chosen a profession in which the public entrusts us with powers that can affect the liberty, property and rights of others,” he noted. 

“That trust imposes discipline. Balance must never become an excuse for indifference to duty.” 

He charged the AMJG to do more than negotiate conditions of service or speak when professional difficulties arose. 

“It must also help cultivate a profession in which its members can remain excellent judges without ceasing to be whole human beings. 

“The welfare of judges and magistrates is not merely an employment matter. It has implications for judicial independence, institutional integrity and the quality of justice,” he added. 

The Chief Justice observed that a judicial officer who was adequately supported, properly trained and treated with dignity was better positioned to discharge the responsibilities of the office. 

“Welfare must also be accompanied by responsibility. We must demand good conditions, but we must also demand good performance,” he said. 

“We must insist upon institutional support, but we must also insist upon institutional discipline. We must defend judicial independence, while remembering that independence is not freedom from accountability.” 

“These things are not contradictions. They are the balance upon which a credible Judiciary rests.”