For her, Ghana will set itself up for destruction when justice is not served and also when laws are not enforced. 

She said peace is a prerequisite for development and for that to be achieved, there was the need for justice to be served without discrimination. 

"As a nation, we must work towards giving justice to all manner of persons," she said, adding “there cannot be prosperity without peace and there cannot be peace unless people are assured that their rights will be upheld and they will not be robbed of their entitlement.”

The Chief Justice made the remarks at the opening of the 2023 National Development Conference organised by the Church of Pentecost at the Pentecost Convention Centre at Gomoa Fetteh in the Central Region today, July 26, 2023.

The two-day conference, which is on the theme: “Moral vision and national development” brought together key personalities, stakeholders, bodies and institutions in Ghana to deliberate on critical issues on Ghana’s development.

Among the speakers attending the event are Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia; Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin; Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo; former President John Agyekum Kufuor; Former Minister of Women’s Affairs of Zimbabwe, Dr Olivia Nyembezi Muchena and Spokesperson of the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu. 

Justice Torkornoo observed that justice is a critical element for peace and stability and that the quality of life in every nation depended on that, pointing out that upholding the laws and investing in the building of justice delivery in a nation brings prosperity to its citizens.

Touching on the theme, the Chief Justice said the judiciary does not see morality as a personal preference of a person, and that the constitutional mandate given to the judiciary to discharge justice requires the maintenance and enforcement of the highest standards of ethical conduct and the upholding of the innate need of the human soul for justice in a nation.

For her, members of the judiciary have chosen to defend the morality of a person through the power given to them by the Constitution and other government institutions.

Justice Torkornoo further stressed that “It is my conviction that in our kaleidoscope of ethnicity, our belief systems, our vocations and talents, the elements of the laws of Ghana, the rules of equity, and the innate ethical values that flow from good conscience, these can surely bind our hearts and minds together and assist us to arrive at a nationally accepted vision of morality.