Supreme Court Judge blames all stakeholders

A Supreme Court Judge Justice G. K. Acquah has said the problem of the delay in court proceedings in this country lies with the outmoded rules being used by the courts and also the poverty of litigants or their inability to pay for the service of lawyers.

The Supreme Court judge said since the rule of the judiciary allows people to appeal for adjournment; people often do so demanding a long number of days hence delaying trials.

Justice Acquah said this at a symposium organised by the Ghana Centre for Democracy Development (CDD) on the theme ?The Judiciary in the golden age of business: the commercial justice system: problems, challenges and proposal for action.?

Justice Acquah however admitted that some of the problems lie with the judges themselves and ordinary people as well.

According to Justice Acquah, the judiciary in Ghana is working to change the old rule in the higher and the District Courts to take a look at ways of setting up friendly and efficient Commercial Courts.

As to how to make legal services affordable to all, Kojo Bentsi-Enchill, a legal practitioner of Bentsi-Enchill and Co. and, a representative of the Ghana Bar Association, said the improvement of access to legal services to all depends on the improvement of legal aid funding to the poor. He added that there should be guidelines to streamline the amount charged by lawyers.

On the issue of access to court reports and decisions, Justice Sophia Akuffo, a Supreme Court Judge and the chairperson of the occasion said 75 percent of the reports in the Supreme Court level are accessible unlike the other courts.

For availability of judgement and judiciary report on the Internet, Justice Akuffo said this has been on the drawing board for far too long and as such measures are being put in place so that judgement can be accessible on the Internet the same day it was read.

On this issue Justice Acquah said even judges have no secretaries to have their judgements typed and given out after it has been read.

For misconduct in the judiciary, Justice Acquah said the low remuneration for judges is not a justification for the alleged misconduct of the judiciary. He said however low remuneration is directly linked to corruption. He stated that the Judicial Council will not hesitate to deal with a judge who misconducts his or herself.