We’re grateful to you for giving us 100 new courts – CJ to government

The Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkonor, has expressed gratitude to the government for the investment made in the construction of new courts across the country.

According to her, the construction of these new courts is making the work of the judiciary more efficient.

She indicated that these new courts constructed through the District Assembly Common Fund are helping the judiciary to churn out orders and proceedings in the beneficiary districts.

Madam Gertrude Torkonor added that currently, there are 439 courts nationwide.

She made the remarks at the launch of the ‘Leading Justice Initiative’ on April 8, 2024.

The Leading Justice Initiative, which stands for Law, Ethics, Access, Due Diligence, and Digitalization, will be the blueprint to pave the way for the Judiciary and the Judicial Service toward meeting the justice demands of the 21st century and beyond.

“We have 439 courts now, thanks to the dedicated commitment of the government since 2020, through the District Assembly Common Fund, to make courts accessible to all citizens.

"The Judiciary is extremely grateful for the 100 new courts that we keep commissioning. All of these courts are making orders and churning out proceedings," she said.

At the event, the Chief Justice also maintained that beyond this, there are also many justice delivery processes that if supported electronically and digitally, will reduce inefficiency, costs, and uncertainty in litigation.

According to her, “Land mapping, verification of property details from records on property rates with District Assemblies, verification of details of vehicles from DVLA, verification of account holding in banks during execution processes, can all be easily done via dedicated and authenticated e-processes between the courts and the relevant institution, saving staff from institutions spending productive time in court just to relay information.

"Many of these electronic verification processes will cut out the horrible specter of forgeries that the courts sometimes experience."