Section 16, The Judicial Service Commission Regulations, 1968

A judicial officer in respect of whom a disciplinary in- Copies ofquiry is to be held shall be entitled to receive free copies of any evidenco of d0cumentary evidence relied on for the purpose of the inquiry, inquirics, Or to be allowed access to it. He may also be given a copy of lhe evidence (including documents tendered in evidence) after ne inquiry is closed, on payment of ten cents for each document eridered in evidence and a charge of five cents for every hundred Words after the first hundered words of the record of evidence, Tor a copy of that record: Provided that no copies of orderS, minutes, roports, or 1CCOrded reasons for decisions shall be issued to him. appoint procedure. B 34 Interdiction. 17. 1f in any case the Commission shall consider that the interest of the public service requires that a judicial officar against whom proceedings for dismissal are being taken or a about to be taken or against whom criminal pTOceedings are being instituted, shall cease forthwith to exercise the power and functions of his office, tlhe Commission may make recom. mendations to the National Reformation Council that such judicial oficer be interdicted from the exercise of those powero and functions. The Commission may also make recommenda. tions to the National Reformation Council as to the salary. not being less than half the salary of such officer, it shall consider Proceedings 18. (D Whencver it is necessary to institute disciplinary for dismissal. proceedings against a judicial officer other than the Master and Registrar on the ground of misconduct which if proved would justify such judicial officer's dismissal from the public service. the Master and Registrar shall, after such preliminary investiga tion as he considers necessary. report the case with his recommendations to the Secrctary for the directions of the Commission. If the Commission directs that charges shouid be framed against the accuscd officer, the Masier and Registrar shall. after consulting the Altorney-General with regard to the terms of the charges, forward to the oficer a statement of the charge or charges framed against him together with a brief statement of the allegations on which cach charge is based in so far as they are not clear from the charges themselves. The Master and Registrar shall also call on the accused oficer to state in writing before a day to be specified (which shall alow a reasonable interval for the purpose) any grounds upon which he relies to exculpate himself. (2) The Master and Registrar shall, immediately after the specified day, either report to the Secretary the fact that the accused officer has failed to furnish such statement or shall for ward such statement to the Secretary with his comments and recommendations, as the case may be, having consulted the Attorney-General if he thinks fit. Thereafter the Commission shall appoint a Committee of not less than three persons toinquire into the matter; one member of the Committee shall be a Judge, Magistrate or public officer with legal qualifications and each of the other Members shall be a public officer who for the time being holds an office of which the initial basic salary is not less than 1,368 leones per annum. (3) The Committee shall intorn1 the accused officer that on a specified day the charges made against him will be investi gated by them and that he will be allowed or, if the Committee shall so determine, will be required, to appear before it to defend himself. (4) If witnesses are examined by the Committee the acoused oficer shall be given an opportunity of being present and of putting questions on his own behalf to the witnesses, and no documentary evidence shall be used against h1m unless he has "previously been supplied with a copy thereof or given access thereto. should be paid to such officer during the period of interdiction (5) The Committee shall in their discretion permit the rosecuting party or the accused officer to be represented by a public oficer or a legal practitioner : Provided that where the Committee permit the prosecuting party to be so represented they shall permit the accused officer to be represented in the sa ne manher. (6) If during the course of the inquiry grounds for the framing of additional charges against the accused officer are dis closed the Committee shall inform the Sccretary of the same and, if the Commission thinks fit to procecd against the accused officer upon such ground the same procedure shall be followed by the Master and Registrar in framing additional charges as was adopted in framing the original charges. (7) The Committee, having inquired into the matter, shall forward their report thereon to the Secretary, accompanied by the record of the charges framed, the evidence led, the defence, and other proceedings relevant to the inquiry. (8) The Commission, after consideration of the report of the Committee may, if it is of opinion that the report shouldbe amplified in any way or that further investigation is desirable refer the matter back to the Committee for further investigation and report but shall not itself hear evidence unless it considers that it is necessary to do so in the interests of justice. The Commission shall, after considering the report or amplified report of the Committee as the case may be, take such disciplinary action against the accused officer as the justice of the case may require. The decision on each charge preferred against the accused officer shall be communicated to him (but not the reasons for the decision).