Director of the Faculty of Academic Affairs and Research at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, Prof Kwesi Aning has lauded the National Security Minister for cautioning the Judiciary against acts that fuel the perception that the Judiciary is biased.

Mr. Dapaah had said that such a perception has dire consequences for the country’s security.

Speaking on the Super Morning Show, Prof Kwesi Aning said "Albert Kan Dapaah over time has shown maturity and a fine sense of the nuances and the sensitivity to the issues that worry the people of Ghana and has sort of, on quite a number of occasions, taken the necessary step in issuing fairly cautious but clear-cut warnings.

“And he has done this once more and I think he needs to be applauded for that,” he stressed.

The commendation comes after the National Security Minister, during a sensitisation workshop on the national security strategy for judges of the superior courts, warned them about a perceived notion that the Judiciary is biased.

The caution follows various accusations by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the Judiciary is biased because the party has lost a string of cases before the courts.

Mr. Dapaah, while addressing the judges, cautioned them over such characterisations.

“Injustice occasioned as a result of the absence of an effective justice delivery system or delayed justice or biased justice is certainly a threat to national security. Indeed, when injustice abounds, particularly in situations where the bench, which is considered the final arbiter of disputes, is deemed biased, citizens tend to take the law into their own hands most times without recourse to the established systems of justice delivery,” he said.

He added that the judiciary’s role is paramount in helping to safeguard the security of the nation; hence, the need to have proper engagements that can sensitise judges to be able to deal with emerging threats that come to them.

Although justice tends to be overlooked, Mr. Dapaah said peace, stability, and security cannot be achieved without justice.

In an interaction with the hosts of the Super Morning Show, Prof. Kwesi Aning noted that the Minister, by this statement has raised an early cautionary note about the role of the judiciary, their performance over time, and how that performance feeds into and can create particular perceptions of that critical role the judiciary plays.

“What Judiciaries do is that because they have this critical role in deciding the meaning of the law, its application to real situations and safeguarding the rights of individuals, settling disputes in accordance with the law, and ensuring that we prevent societies from sliding into a Hobbesian state.

"So Mr. Kan Dapaah bringing this nexus to the core and cautioning, is very key," he maintained.

In addition, he noted that, “what Mr. Dapaah has done is to say that the dispensation for justice and the way in which decisions are made in themselves can create insecurities and it is that cautionary note that we need to take seriously."

He suspects Mr. Dapaah, in his capacity as the National Security Minister is “picking signals across the country and I think it has reached a tipping point whereas the substantive Minister who is supposed to keep all of us secure, he feels worried, not only to give this advice in private but also to verbalise it publicly.”

To the Professor, this sends a clear signal that this is not something that can be limited to the routine confidential need to know.

"This has gone beyond those restricted confines and as the Minister, he can sense that there is something bubbling that can pose an existential threat to the country and he needs to bring it out.

"And I think Mr. Dapaah’s point is very useful and his statement must be taken with all the seriousness that it deserves,” he added.