Robust judiciary is vital for justice delivery – Chief Justice
The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Wood, on Tuesday called for an efficient and robust judiciary to enhance justice delivery.
She noted that over the years, some factors had militated against the effective operation of the judiciary, notable among them being lack of Court Houses.
Mrs Wood made the call at a sod cutting ceremony for work to begin on a 34-courtroom complex project at Victoriaborg in Accra.
The project being financed by the management of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) is estimated at about $50 million and being undertaken by China State Hualong Limited.
President John Evans Atta Mills cut the sod for the project being supervised by Avangarde Design Services, project consultants, it is expected to be completed in two-and-a-half years.
Mrs Wood said the objective of the Judicial Service was to promote smooth and efficient administration of justice to all persons and create the enabling environment for good governance and democracy.
She said one of the major criticisms against the Judiciary was that distribution of courts in Ghana was not geographically balanced.
The Chief Justice explained that this had affected physical access to justice within some parts of the country despite the nation’s commitment to “Justice” as stipulated in the 1992 Constitution was still limited.
“I speak of adequacy in terms of both quality and quantity. Yet access to justice is the cornerstone of the corporate mission and vision of the Judicial Service of Ghana,” she added.
Mrs Justice Wood said the situation was further worsened by the increasing number of cases filed in the courts daily, exerting more pressure on the already inadequate existing facilities.
She said as the Third Estate of the Realm, the Judiciary remained mindful of its role in national development, hence the structural and systemic reforms which it had relentlessly pursued over the past decade.
Mrs Wood said the Judicial Service had a huge infrastructural deficit regarding Accra, because most of the High and Circuit Court buildings were housed mainly in wooden structures.
She said construction of the court complex to replace the Cocoa Affairs Courts would help improve the general infrastructure in Accra and expand services of the Judiciary.
Source: GNA