The Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo has received ICT Equipment from GIZ, on behalf of the Judicial Service of Ghana (JSG), to facilitate the work of the E-Judgment Secretariat. The items are; Twenty-Five (25) laptop computers and six (6) scanners.
This was at a brief ceremony which also witnessed the signing of an Addendum to introduce Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), as a new party to an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Laws.Africa, AfricanLii, and GhaLii.
Present at the ceremony were the Judicial Secretary, some Judges and Directors of the Service, as well as representatives from Laws.Africa, AfricanLii, and GhaLii.
In her opening remarks, the Chair of the E-judgment Committee, Justice Barbara Tetteh Charway, said the Judicial Service of Ghana (JSG) has an existing MOU with Laws.Africa, AfricanLii, and GhaLii, and that the purpose of the addendum was to introduce GIZ as a new party to the MOU.
Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo in a handshake with Mr. Gregory Maraite, representative of GIZ Ghana. At the far left is Justice Barbara Tetteh Charway, Chair, E-Judgment Committee
The Chief Justice for her part, welcomed GIZ’s collaboration aimed at advancing access to legal tools in Ghana, stressing, it will bolster legal accessibility and transparency. She said through the MOU, efforts to digitize court judgments and make them accessible to both Judges and the public have materialized considerably.
The Chief Justice added, that the collaboration aligns with Ghana’s legal obligations under the Right to Information Act and the 1992 Constitution, ensuring proactive disclosure of legal information for public benefit.
She said the effort to have judgments of courts scanned for easy accessibility began during the tenure of Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, who commissioned His Lordship Justice Richard Apaloo, JA (rtd) and herself to ensure that every Judge irrespective of their location, had ready access to judgments. Chief Justice Sackey Torkornoo said, the collaboration has made Ghana to stand out as the first country in Africa to consistently publish Lower Court judgments.
Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo addressing the delegation from GIZ,
Laws.Africa, AfricanLii & GhaLii
She stressed the need to ensure equal access to judicial resources across all regions of Ghana, highlighting concerns over the rural-urban divide. With Ghana boasting of 440 operational courts, surpassing the count in larger countries like Kenya, Her Ladyship noted potential inefficiencies in resource allocation.
In response, Mr. Gregory Maraite, representative from GIZ Ghana, outlined their focus on academia and legal practitioners, emphasizing the importance of real-time access to judgments from higher courts to improve the quality of legal work and extend access to legal information beyond professionals to benefit the general public.
Representative of GIZ Ghana, Mr. Gregory Maraite giving his remarks
Furthermore, GIZ Ghana emphasized the pivotal role of human capacity in leveraging ICT effectively, noting that the impact of digital tools hinges on the skills and capacities of users. Prior to this collaboration, the E-judgment Committee, then led by Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, played a pivotal role in designing a platform for uploading judgments and ensuring their accessibility for research purposes.
1,851 judgments from the District Courts, 1,485 from the Circuit Courts, 4,139 from the High Courts, 1,917 from the Court of Appeal and 892 from the Supreme Courts have been scanned and uploaded by the E-judgment Secretariat.
With technical assistance from Laws.Africa, AfricanLii, and GhaLii, Court Registrars and Recorders have been equipped with the necessary skills to facilitate online law reporting effectively. The Judicial Secretary, Justice Cyra Pamela C.A. Koranteng, signed the Addendum on behalf of the Judicial Service, whiles Mr. Gregory Maraite represented GIZ. The addendum formalizes GIZ’s inclusion in the partnership.
The Judicial Secretary, Justice Cyra P.C.A. Koranteng signing the Addendum MOU on behalf of the Judicial Service, while Mr. Gregory Maraite, GIZ Ghana signs his portion
The addition of GIZ to this partnership signifies a step forward in advancing the objectives of the MOU and opens the door for future collaborations aimed at promoting legal literacy and access to justice.
