Former Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative, Justice Emile Short, has indicated that the removal of the twenty lower court judges indicted in the judicial bribery scandal is not enough to deter others from the act.
According to him, the Attorney General must prosecute the said judges.
The five member committee, chaired by Justice Sophia Adiyira, that investigated the matter, submitted its work to the Judicial Council today [Monday] upon which the decision to suspend them was taken.
However, Justice Emile Short has told Accra-based Joy fm, “These judges and magistrates are still open to criminal prosecution. This decision only affects their position on the bench. They have been removed from the bench… and the fact still remains that corruption is a criminal offence.”
“It is up to the attorney general to decide that in the cases of these judges criminal prosecutions will follow. So I think we should keep this in mind,” the former commissioner of CHRAJ added.
Some 22 lower court judges and 12 High Court judges were captured in Anas’ two-year investigative piece, allegedly taking bribes to influence justice.