ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on how Ghanaian judges deal with such doubts. It outlines the judges' concept of their work, courts and Ghanaian society. A judgment has several aims and addressees, such as litigants and other lawyers and judges, and it serves as the basis for assessing judicial work. In Ghana, corruption in the administration of justice is seen as ubiquitous, and the public often perceives judgments as dependent on a litigant's relation to a judge or other court officers. In court, legal terminology and procedures are vehicles for judges to cooperate with lawyers and others. The Ghanaian judicial tradition is based on the model of colonial English judges. The chapter shows how judges strive in their everyday work to construct and uphold an image of judicial integrity and to contain doubt despite constant suspicion. However, there are a number of structural malfunctions, and Ghanaian judges acknowledge that the court system is far from ideal.
