Anthony Henry Cofie, a justice of the Appeals Court, has said that he opposes the idea of passing legislation governing contempt of court.
This argument came up during a conversation that was started by Francis Xavier Sosu, the member of parliament for Madina. He emphasized the need for rules governing judges’ handling of contempt cases and how they may affect the right to free speech.
On Wednesday, December 20, Justice Cofie spoke to the vetting committee. She stressed that while incidents of contempt are uncommon, judges are empowered to deal with them because it gives them the ability to confront those who would undermine and harm the legal system.
“I don’t think that there should be a law as we have now in the UK on contempt. In all honesty, how many contempt cases come before the court across the country in a year? they are very few. For the number of years that I have sat as a judge, I don’t even know the number of times I have convicted somebody of contempt.”
Justice Cofie also advised people to be cautious and to keep their emotions in check while talking about issues pertaining to the judiciary in order to prevent any legal repercussions.
On November 10, President Akufo-Addo proposed three Court of Appeal Justices to the Supreme Court to take over open seats.
Among them are Justices Richard Agyei Frimpong, Yaw Asare Darko, and Henry Anthony Cofie.
