Thanksgiving Service Ushers in legal year

Published October 7, 2024

The 67th Legal Year thanksgiving service was held on 5th October 2024 at the Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral, Accra under the theme “Building the pillars of Justice delivery through Leadership, Innovation and Technology”.

The event, a prelude to the new legal year, commenced with a procession by the justices of the Superior Courts, the Bar, judges and magistrates of the circuit and district Courts through the John Evans Attah Mills High Street to the cathederal. The procession, a visage of British Colonial rule in Ghana, traces its roots to the middles ages in Britain where judges would walk over to Westminster Abbey to pray for guidance at the beginning of the legal term.

The opening prayers were said by His Lordship Rt. Rev’d Dr. Daniel Sylvanus Mensah Torto while the Chief Justice, Deputy Attorney-General and the President of the Ghana Bar Association took turns in reading the first, second and third bible reading respectively.

The Most Rev. Dr. Paul Kwabena Boafo delivered the sermon. In his sermon, he admonished the bench to dispense justice with integrity and advised lawyers to show empathy and compassion when dealing with their clients.

The venerable bishop also touched on ecological and environmental justice. He mentioned that the promotion of justice should not be only to the benefit of humans in society but also to the environment in which we live in citing the recent spate of environmental degradation in Ghana.

Prayers were offered for the three arms of government, members of the judicial service and the Ghana Bar Association. There was a special prayer for members of the bench and the bar who have passed on in the previous legal year, notable amongst  them being the late Anthony Akoto Ampaw and the late Justice Julius Ansah.

233legal wish the bar and the bench a fruitful legal year!

Isaac Abram-lartey Esq contributed to this article