Judicial Service uploads 11,710 court judgments on E-Judgment Platform

The Judicial Service of Ghana has made a significant stride in digitizing its legal records, with 11,710 court judgments and rulings now accessible on the E-Judgment Platform.

Papa K. Maisie, Director of Monitoring and Evaluation of the Judicial Service, announced this development during a meeting with the Judicial Press Corps at the Law Court Complex in Accra.

Currently, this platform is available exclusively to judges and magistrates for research purposes.

As of July 2024, the Supreme Court has uploaded 921 judgments, the Court of Appeal 1,920, the High Court 4,317, the Circuit Courts 2,281, and the District Courts 2,281 judgments on the platform.

To make these judgments accessible to the public, the Judicial Service has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Laws Africa Legal Information (AfricanLii) in 2023.

This partnership aims to publish online laws from African countries to assist with research and ensure sustainable open access.

The partnership also includes training and equipping the Judicial Service to digitize its judgments.

Another platform, Ghalii, has been made accessible to the public. As of July 2024, the Ghalii portal has 1,016 judgments from the Supreme Court, 275 from the Courts of Appeal, 818 from the High Courts, 1,617 from the Circuit Courts, and 1,740 from the District Courts.

Mr. Maisie also highlighted ongoing efforts to develop geographical jurisdictions to guide court users on which courts to access for justice in the districts.

The Judicial Service is working on a Legislative Instrument (LI) to enforce these jurisdictions and is exploring the possibility of establishing a court in every district within the next five to ten years.

The Judicial Service has also raised concerns about the alarming number of cases awaiting the Attorney General’s advice, particularly for serious offenses such as murder, rape, manslaughter, and fatal accidents.

This issue came to light after the Quality Assurance Unit of the Service analyzed pending criminal cases in District Courts.

The Service has contacted the Attorney General, and some cases have been disposed of through the Justice for All Programme held in various prisons.

Additionally, Ghana Police Service prosecutors have been prompted to finalize pending cases promptly.

The Quality Assurance Unit of the Judicial Service is also documenting the timelines set by law for every process in the justice delivery chain and rationalizing the jurisdictions of various courts.

They are mapping out areas and neighborhoods to be served by courts in districts and municipalities to enforce jurisdictional filing and inform court users where to access justice based on their location.

Regarding maintenance and relocation of courts, the Unit is building relationships with various Municipal Chief Executives to support the maintenance and relocation of old, dilapidated court buildings and structures.

Improvements have already been seen in municipalities such as Korle Klottey, Teshie, and La.

The Unit is also employing strategies to reduce caseloads of busy courts nationwide.

By the end of the 2023/2024 legal year, Ghana will have one Supreme Court, six Courts of Appeal, 129 High Courts, 104 Circuit Courts, and 228 District Courts nationwide.

Chief Justice Mrs. Gertrude Torkornoo announced that the Judicial Service will soon open small claim debt recovery courts to handle debt-related cases and reduce the burden on judges.

These courts will operate on Saturdays and afternoons to help clear the backlog of cases.

The Small Claim Debt Recovery Courts will be piloted in the Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions, aiming to streamline the justice process and ensure timely resolution of cases.

The initiative has received positive feedback from the Judicial Press Corps, with Leader Mr. Wilberforce Asare expressing gratitude for the engagement.