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President of the Ghana Bar Association Benson Ntsukpui has called for a rethink of the jury system of trial in Ghana.
According to him, the lack of appreciation of the merit of cases by the jury in most cases affect the quality of the verdict they give on matters.
A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact, which then direct the actions of a judge. It is distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges make all decisions.
Speaking at an event in Accra, Ntsukpui said the trial by jury has not been too helpful to the Ghanaian judicial system.
“It is not a secret that our jury system is severely challenged. It is common place that absenteeism among jurors lead to unnecessary delays in criminal cases. Also is the issue of professional jurors; a certain sense of professionalism is developing in the jury system, some particular citizens are always selected to be jurors in several cases pending before the courts.
“...Hence in a country with very high percentage of uneducated citizens, justice might not be done in many cases if the pool of citizens from which jurors are chosen is quite uneducated,” he bemoaned.
