{"id":99536,"date":"2025-10-20T23:48:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T23:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=99536"},"modified":"2025-10-20T23:48:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T23:48:00","slug":"if-a-chief-justice-takes-benefits-she-denied-others-thats-misbehaviour-thaddeus-sory-fires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=99536","title":{"rendered":"If a Chief Justice takes benefits she denied others, that\u2019s misbehaviour \u2013 Thaddeus Sory fires"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Private legal practitioner and law lecturer, Thaddeus Sory, says a Chief Justice who takes benefits she has denied others engages in \u201cstated misbehaviour\u201d under the Constitution.<\/p>\n

Speaking on JoyNews\u2019 PM Express<\/strong> on Monday, October 20, he explained that misconduct in public office, particularly within the judiciary, is not a vague or subjective concept but a clearly measurable standard grounded in the people\u2019s expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very objective,\u201d he stressed. \u201cWhen you talk about the fundamental law of the land, you are not seeking to set out everything in detail. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Constitution must be a compact document that sets out generally what we expect our framework of government to be like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read also: Misbehaviour under the Constitution is objective, not opinion, says Thaddeus Sory<\/p>\n

According to him, the public\u2019s trust forms the foundation of the judiciary\u2019s legitimacy. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Constitution says justice emanates from the people. So the people have a certain expectation of you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr. Sory warned that when a Chief Justice contradicts her own judicial rulings by benefiting from privileges she has previously ruled against, it undermines the integrity of the justice system.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the Chief Justice gets drunk whilst in office, that\u2019s a stated misbehavior. If we find out that she has passed a number of decisions which say that Article 71 office holders are not entitled to have their family members benefit, but she can benefit from it under the excuse that her appointment letter, written by her subordinate, says so\u2014that amounts to misbehaviour,\u201d he fired.<\/p>\n

He argued that such conduct erodes public confidence. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf your Chief Justice can decide that I will take money that I know I don\u2019t have the right to, with the weirdest excuse that it was given to me by somebody who works under me\u2014what do you think the ordinary man will think?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

The lawyer emphasised that standards of judicial conduct must reflect public morality, not insider sympathies. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe should make all of those people lay people,\u201d he said, referring to the composition of disciplinary committees. <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the ordinary person who sits down there says, if the Chief Justice can do this, how do I trust the system?\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained that while the Constitution provides broad guidance, the committee established to investigate judicial misconduct must interpret \u201cstated misbehaviour\u201d through the lens of societal expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey could say that under this particular situation, these amounts that were spent for a plane ticket for your husband and your daughter\u2014when there are district courts without standing fans and broken chairs\u2014amount to misbehaviour,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sory contrasted such conduct with the case of former Electoral Commission Chair, Charlotte Osei, arguing that her removal reflected a troubling inversion of values. <\/p>\n

Read also: You can\u2019t codify every wrong \u2013 Thaddeus Sory says leave misconduct judgments to committees<\/p>\n

\u201cHer crime was that she saved Ghana GH\u00a215 million,\u201d he said. \u201cShe canceled a contract because there was no value for money. Procurement came and testified there was no breach. Yet she was removed. If that is what society wants, so be it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He maintained that judges should not be exempt from scrutiny by ordinary citizens. <\/p>\n

\u201cThose involved in the justice system judge ordinary men. If it affects us, let them also judge us,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n

On concerns that such a process could be abused, he dismissed fears of unpredictability. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt has predictability. You now put me in an official position, and the public sees that the head of the institution which should ensure justice is reversing justice\u2014the public will tell you they don\u2019t like that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He concluded that public confidence, not internal privilege, is the ultimate standard. <\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody is accountable to the society. If they say they don\u2019t like your style, you are too gentle\u2014so be it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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