The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has called on the Chief Justice, His Lordship Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, to exercise the highest possible restraint and discretion in his public engagements and commentary to preserve judicial neutrality.
In a press release issued on September 4, 2026, the Center said the call follows remarks made recent by the Chief Justice made on September 2, 2026, during visits to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) alongside members of the Council for Legal Education and Training.
According to CDD-Ghana, at MIIF, the Chief Justice lauded current management while questioning the organization’s performance over “the past eight years.
At SSNIT, he contrasted current operations with past attempts to sell off certain properties in the organization’s portfolio, lamenting how management of the nation’s affairs had previously “sunk so low.”
The Center said by explicitly contrasting performance under the current administration with its predecessor’s, the Chief Justice crossed a vital constitutional line into partisan validation, creating a perception of political bias.
CDD-Ghana noted that such commentary compromises the Judiciary’s non-partisan mandate and risks breaching the Code of Conduct for Judges and Magistrates, especially at a time when public trust in the Judiciary is at its lowest since Afrobarometer tracking began in 1999.
The think-tank cited the Afrobarometer Round 10 (2024) survey which found that only 35 percent of citizens trust the courts, representing a 21-percentage-point decline since 2012, while 62 percent believe judicial decisions are routinely swayed by powerful interests, and roughly half doubt that an ordinary person can obtain a fair trial.
It said while judges are not expected to withdraw from public life, their office demands self-restraint needed to preserve public confidence, stressing that justice must not only be done but be seen to be done, a principle that requires the unequivocal appearance of neutrality.
The Center therefore urged the Chief Justice to lead by example, adhere strictly to the Code of Conduct, and confine public appearances to matters that directly serve court administration or legal development, while calling on the Judicial Council and the Association of Judges and Magistrates to strengthen internal oversight and hold all judicial officers accountable regardless of rank.
By Prosper Kwaku Selassy Agbitor
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