We need credible judicial system-CJ

Tema, July 28, GNA - Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, the Chief Justice (CJ), has said there was a need for a credible judicial system that would provide protection in the event of a dispute.

Speaking at a stakeholders' conference for the development of a New Court Complex in Tema, Mrs Justice Wood said due to lack of investor confidence in the judiciary of host nations, international rather than domestic dispute resolution centres were preferred to handle investment disputes.

The Conference, organized by the Judicial Service in collaboration with the Tema Development Corporation (TDC), brought together lawyers, police prosecutors as well as the major players in commerce and industry to work together to provide resources for the construction of the Court Complex in the Metropolis.

She said court users needed safe court houses from which they could exercise their constitutional rights to access justice.

Mrs Justice Wood repeated Ghana's commitment to building an open, all-inclusive democratic society based on human worth and dignity, equality and the promotion and protection of human rights.

A courthouse, she said, was an invaluable asset, because it symbolized all those noble values and told the story of the premium which the citizenry placed on the democratic values of freedom and justice.

Mrs Justice Wood recounted that in the past attempts were made to construct a new court house for Tema but construction works on the building stalled some 30 years ago, leaving trespassers to encroach on some portions of the land.

She said the proposed facility would not only house the High and Circuit Courts but would also be expanded to provide specialized courts like Alternative Dispute Resolution rooms, library facilities, offices for commissioners of oath and other multi-purpose rooms.

The CJ assured residents in the Metropolis that the Judicial Service would incorporate opinions solicited from them into the design to suit their need, so that the final output would reflect wider stakeholder ownership and interests.

Mr Joe Abbey, Acting Managing Director of TDC, said as an institution, the corporation was saddled with a lot of court cases which continue to hamper its service as a planning and development authority in the housing sector.

For this reason, he said, TDC was fully committed to the development of the new Court Complex in Tema, for which it had already allocated a parcel of land at the Meridian area.

Mr Richard Akpokavie, President of the Tema branch of the Ghana Bar Association, recounted that successive heads of the Judiciary received requests from several people including lawyers, judges, industries, organized labour and even political authorities, for the construction of a court complex in Tema and expressed the hope that the facility would enhance the administration of justice.