Leitner Center Hosts Visit by Judicial Delegation from Ghana

The Fordham Law Leitner Center hosted a visit by a judicial delegation from Ghana, including the four newest appointees to the Supreme Court of Ghana, from September 18 through October 2, 2008. Her Ladyship Justice Rose Constance Owusu, His Lordship Justice Jones Victor Mawulom Dotse, His Lordship Justice Anin-Yeboah, and His Lordship Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie of the Supreme Court of Ghana; Mr. Justice Paul Uuter Dery of the Human Rights Court, High Court of Ghana, and Mr. Abdullah Iddrisu, Deputy Secretary of the Judicial Service of Ghana, visited the Leitner Center as part of our judicial capacity building partnership with the Judicial Service of Ghana and the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C. The visit was coordinated by Leitner Center Professor Paolo Galizzi and Levinson Fellow Alena Herklotz.
The judicial capacity building project seeks to promote fairness and efficiency in the Ghanaian judicial system through activities in three complimentary areas: Research surveys on the state of the judicial service in Ghana; formal training sessions for members of the judicial service in Ghana; and visits to the U.S. by members of the judicial service. The delegation’s visit was the first in what the partners hopes will be an enduring exchange relationship between Ghana and the U.S.

While at Fordham, the delegates met with Dean William M. Treanor and participated in a full day’s program of workshops on International Human Rights Law; The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); The African Charter; and Legal Research, led by distinguished members of the Fordham Law faculty Professors Nicole Fritz and Victor Essien, and Leitner Center Faculty Director Tracy Higgins and Executive Director Jeanmarie Fenrich.

During their visit, the delegates also traveled to the William H. Rehnquist Center on Constitutional Structure of Government in Tucson, Arizona. Levinson Fellow Alena Herklotz accompanied the delegation on their trip, during which they met with Rehnquist Center Director Sally Rider for an overview of the U.S. court system, and legal infrastructure. Ms. Rider was Chief of Staff for Chief Justices Rehnquist and Roberts of the United States Supreme Court and engaged the delegates in discussion on a wide range of topics, including the U.S. legal system, Supreme Court, constitutional interpretation; and judicial independence. The visit, coordinated by University of Arizona College of Law Assistant Dean of Development and External Relations Nancy Stanley, also included a meeting with Chief Judge John Pelander, and Judges J. William Brammer Jr., Peter J. Eckerstrom, and Philip G. Espinoza of the Arizona Court of Appeals, Second Division; and visits to the U.S. District Court of Arizona and Pima Country Bar Association.

The delegates also visited Washington, D.C. to attend the Just the Beginning Foundation Conference “Reaching Back, Lifting Up” as guests of Judge Ann C. Williams of the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where they met with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg; and to take part in an informal exchange session at the Federal Judicial Center. At the FJC, Center Director Judge Barbara Rothstein and Director of International Judicial Relations Mira Gur-Arie provided an overview of the orientation and education of federal judges and court employees in the U.S and led a roundtable on judicial training and ethics. The delegates also toured the U.S. Supreme Court, at which they met privately with Justice Stephen Breyer to discuss the role of the judiciary in emergent democracies. Professors Paolo Galizzi, Jeanmarie Fenrich, and Robin Lenhardt, and Levinson Fellow Alena Herklotz, accompanied the delegates on their trip.

Throughout their visit, the Justices encouraged a continued exchange of ideas and embraced the possibility of ongoing cooperation between Ghana and the U.S., extending invitations to U.S. jurists and law faculty to visit Ghana. The first such visit will take place in just a few weeks time.