According to the Chief Justice she had been gathering a lot of data from the courts to show her ‘where there are intense blockages and where there is so much work’. ‘I’ve discovered that there are courts that have as many as 600 and a 1000 cases and then there are courts where there are as few as 30 something cases’, she revealed.
She said the recent introduction of the Court Shift System in some identified District, Circuit and High Courts in Accra on a pilot basis was to address the problem of high caseloads in those courts and added that when the caseload reduces upon a success evaluation later, the Judicial Service would then consider replicating the model in other courts elsewhere in Ghana, which have similarly high caseloads.
Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo briefing members of the Judicial Press Corps
The Chief Justice also informed the Judicial Press Corps about the re-opening of the Court of Appeal sittings around the country, taking into account the necessity to reduce travel time for court users seeking the assistance of the Court to hear their cases on appeal. According to Her Ladyship, the Central and Western Court of Appeal would sit in Sekondi instead of Cape Coast as was the case previously, because ‘court facilities in Cape Coast have deteriorated and Sekondi has stronger facilities’. The Court of Appeal in Kumasi would handle appeals from Ashanti, Western North, Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regions and also hear appeals from the Northern and Upper Regions virtually. The Court of Appeal in Koforidua on the other hand would hear appeals from the Eastern, Volta and Oti Regions.
The Chief Justice informed the Judicial Press Corps that the Judicial Training Institute (JTI) had put together a curriculum for para legal training, of which they could benefit, which would soon be available at a fee, subject to the approval of the fees by the Ministry of Finance.
Members of the Judicial Press Corps asking questions
At the end of her presentation, the Hon. Lady Chief Justice fielded questions from the Judicial Press Corps, who were later presented with information packs providing statistics on courts and their caseloads.
