Cape Coast to get Court of Appeal soon

Cape Coast, May 28, GNA - The Lady Chief Justice, Justice Mrs Georgina Wood, on Thursday announced that Cape Coast would soon be provided with a Court of Appeal to serve the judicial needs of the Central and Western Regions.

She said it was appropriate for at least two regions to share an Appeal Court so as to ease the tension of those in Accra and Kumasi. Justice Mrs Wood said this at a stakeholders' forum held on a proposed new court complex for Cape Coast.

The forum, which was attended by chiefs, lawyers, judges and a cross-section of the public, was to among others collect valuable inputs into how a new court complex for the Cape Coast Metropolis should be developed.

She said to redeem the past glory of Cape Coast, and as a matter of fact, the West African Court of Appeal (WACA) used to sit in Cape Coast, adding that with the University starting a Law School soon, it was imperative to have a respectable and vibrant court of Appeal in the region which the law students could use for their practicals.

The Chief Justice said it was her vision to improve access to justice in Ghana which include court reforms as an intervention and that her main strategy to achieve this vision and also bring justice to the doorsteps of the ordinary citizens of Ghana, was to provide modern court houses and chambers as well as offices for supporting staff to work in. She said the proposed new court complex would, in addition, provide office space for staff including a clinic and other facilities for staff of the service that had to work under a difficult environment. She said the new court complex would be designed taking into consideration the needs of all sectors of the society, especially giving equal accessibility to physically challenged persons.

Touching on the oil find, Justice Mrs Wood said "I have great hope that Ghana will manage her oil revenue so well that benefits to the entire nation will be evident in the future," and that the Central Region with its close proximity to the Western Region, could not be left out of this blessing. "For this reason the judiciary must position itself in readiness for the increased number of civil and criminal cases likely to arise from the economic growth to follow," she added.

She commended the Civil Servants Association of Ghana for releasing a parcel of land for the proposed court complex and tasked lawyers to be up and doing in their work since the provision of new facilities would go with more responsibilities.

The Central Regional Minister, Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe, noted that the construction of the new court complex will go a long way to address the critical accommodation requirements with the Judicial Service in Cape Coast. She lauded the idea and called on all stakeholders to support it in order to bring justice to the doorsteps of every Ghanaian. She gave the assurance that the Regional Co-ordinating Council will support and monitor the development of the project to its successful completion.

For her part, the Supervising High Court Judge for Cape Coast, Mrs Justice Francesca Owusu Arhin, said Cape Coast, which currently had five High Courts, three Circuit Courts and a Magistrate Court, needed an additional Magistrate Court. She said the project which was a modern day one, required communal ownership and that there was the need to instil in the community it was situated a sense of ownership.