Justice system in crisis

Ho (Ghanaian Times) -- The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has noted that the administration of justice in the country is in crisis and that unless the situation is addressed, it will hamper the rule of law and good governance.

He said that it was the responsibility of all stakeholders to form linkages in order to strengthen institutions of justice to ensure the rule of law. Nana Akufo-Addo said these during a durbar of staff of the Southern Sector – Volta, Greater Accra, Central, Eastern and Western Regions – of the Office of the Attorney-General.

It was also attended by judges, regional heads of departments and agencies, the Military, Prisons, Police and Fire Officers. Nana Akufo-Addo said that he had submitted a budgetary proposal for ?50 billion to the Ministry of Finance for approval and expressed the hope that it would improve the situation considerably.

He said that it was the priority of the government to decentralize the administration of justice instead of concentrating it in Greater Accra, which was also hindering the smooth running of the legal system. The Attorney-General deplored the situation whereby people purported to have committed criminal offences were unduly remanded because witnesses were not readily available or due to police investigations.

He described the situation as a form of social injustice, which could hamper the rule of law and good governance, an essential cornerstone of the government. He gave the assurance that the Land Title Registry would soon be decentralized to ensure efficiency and effectiveness to make investment attractive, a prerequisite to accelerate the nation’s development.

Welcoming the participants, Kwasi Owusu Yeboah, the Volta Regional Minister, stressed the need for appropriate and effective measures to be adopted to demystify the law and the judicial process as a way of promoting general public understanding of the present system of justice delivery.