Automation of courts is judicial service's major project

Chief Justice Mr Edward Kwame Wiredu said on Monday that the automation of the courts was a major project in the Judicial Service's reform programme, aimed at modernising the process of the administration of justice.

It is the aim of the service eventually to have all the courts automated," he said, in an address read on his behalf by Mr Justice G. K. Acquah, a Supreme Court Judge, at the opening a seven-day Capacity Development Workshop for 21 judges of (Automated) High Courts of Justice, at the Judicial Service Training School in Accra.

Chief Justice Wiredu stressed that apart from the automation of the Regional High Courts, DANIDA had undertaken to automate six district courts in the North, adding USAID had also offered to automate five more district courts.

The course is to enable each of the participating judges drawn from the Southern Sector to gain sufficient knowledge to help them to make the automation process of the courts successful.

It was organised by the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education of Ghana (ICJEG) and sponsored by UNDP/National Governance Programme with funding from the Japanese Human Resource Development (HRD) assistance.

Chief Justice Wiredu, who is also the Chairman of the General Legal Council, said the automation was, among other things, meant to relieve the judges from taking down the proceedings in long hand, so as to enable them to listen more attentively to the evidence.

"It is further meant to facilitate speedy processing of the entire trial, guarantee transparency and fairness in the adjudication of cases, and thereby create the necessary confidence and respect in the administration of justice."

He noted that in the courts where proceeding were carried out manually, it was not uncommon to receive complaints from litigants and their lawyers about a particular judge's refusal or failure to record part of the evidence or submission, saying such complaints could not arise in an automated court.

Chief Justice Wiredu reminded the judges that the equipment was expensive and delicate and said it costs about 50,000 dollars to get a court semi-automated, while it costs about 200,000 dollars to fully automate one court.

The Chief Justice urged them to take personal responsibility for the proper care and safety of the equipment. They should also monitor the performance of their staff in order to avoid breakdowns and delays.

Chief Justice Wiredu said the "court computerisation project", popularly referred to as the "Fast Track High Court", had turned out to be a huge success, after some initial set backs.

The Chief Justice said due to the limited resources at the Judicial Service's disposal from its benevolent donors, the automation would be in phases in the regions.

The first phase would cover 10 high courts in the Regional Capitals. The second phase would cover the 10 high courts sited in some districts and other selected towns.

He said completed fully automated high courts in the first phase, were in Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi with semi-automation in Tema, Ho, Koforidua, Cape Coast, Sunyani, Wa, Bolgatanga and Tamale.

He explained that in the full-automated courts, "the court room is linked to the cashier, registrar, bailiff, data entry clerk, judge chambers and the quality controller or IT administrator.

The Minister of Justice and Attorney -General, Papa Owusu Ankomah, who was the Special Guest, said it was proper for the Judiciary to be abreast with time, especially in this era of Information Technology.

He said the NPP Government had ushered the country into a golden age of business and that the Judiciary would complement this effort by ensuring effective dispensation of justice.

He announced that plans were far advanced to introduce Commercial Courts in the country.

The Minister noted that offering Information Technology to the Judges was in the right direction, but the human element was very important.

He said the course would become meaningless if the participating judges did not change their habits and stamped their authorities at their respective courts.

Mr Ankomah, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sekondi, urged the participants to let their works have a "moral message" and to show that there was a "new wind blowing in the Judiciary."

The Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs Kazuko Asai, said during the visit of President John Agyekum Kufuor, to Japan in October 2002, the Government of Japan decided to extend 417,000 dollars to Ghana, to support the project for the Institutional Management System for the Judiciary of Ghana.

She said the assistance was extended under Japan's Human Resource Development Fund, which was established in 1986 in the UNDP, for the purpose of helping efforts of developing countries towards human resources development.

The Ambassador was delighted that the automation of some of the high courts in the country were being extended to all the 10 regional capitals, and noted that the reform process in the Judiciary was making progress for the smooth take off in the regions as well.

Ambassador Asai, who is a lawyer by profession, was confident that the success of the project would further strengthen the emphasis placed on the realisation of good governance through "Zero Tolerance for Corruption" under the slogan of "Positive Change" by the Government of Ghana.

Earlier in a welcoming address, Mr Owusu Ansah, Judicial Secretary appealed to the Japanese Ambassador to assist the Judiciary to expand its training school.

He also mentioned a conference centre and a hostel facility of between 30 and 50 rooms to house judges in training as some of the problems facing the Judiciary.

In a closing remark, Mr Justice Acquah, also the Chairman of the ICJEG Board of Trustees told the participants; "the achievement of the objective would depend on how they fared in their automated courts".

He said if they performed well and succeeded in disposing of cases speedily, their efforts would urge the Judiciary to pursue the automation of the remaining courts.