Court users have confidence in the discharge of justice by the judiciary

A study conducted by the African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA) to assess the perception of court users in the delivery of justice by courts in the Tamale Metropolis indicates that more court users have trust in the judicial system.

At least 88 percent of respondents in the survey funded by the Star Ghana Foundation, expressed confidence in the judicial system to give them justice, while 12 percent said they did not have confidence in the judicial system to give them the desired justice following some experiences had encountered in seeking justice in the courts.

Lawyer Edna Kuma, Executive Director of AWLA disclosed this during a review meeting to assess access to justice, organised by AWLA in Tamale to strengthen civic participation and social accountability in justice delivery in the judicial service.

According to her, some users of the courts complained about some elements in the judicial system who were unfriendly to them in the discharge of justice.

She indicated that a trusted judicial system would encourage more people to resort to the services of the courts and reduce the level of lawlessness that was associated with simple litigation issues.

She said the respondents suggested that the judicial service should put in place a reliable system to inform them about the change of date to their cases to enable them avoid the inconvenience of travelling long distances to Tamale only to be informed that their hearing dates had changed.

Lawyer Issah Mahmodu, Northern Regional Director of the Legal Aid Commission suggested that the users of the courts should be educated on court procedures for them to have some basic knowledge on court proceedings and actions.

He urged members of the public to visit the courts websites to learn more about the guidelines of the court to enhance their knowledge and be educated on court procedures.