Tribunals Bill: Lawyer details how a case dragged for 32 years

Private legal practitioner Justice Abdulai has raised concerns about delays in Ghana's justice system, revealing that he worked on a court case that took 32 years to conclude.

Speaking during a discussion on the passage of the Tribunals Bill, 2026, on TV3’s Key Points on Saturday, July 18, 2026, Justice Abdulai said completing a case within two years is considered a major achievement because of the slow pace of the justice system.

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He explained that he inherited the case from another lawyer and handled it for about 10 years before it was finally concluded.

“It is like a birthday gift to you if you're able to finish your case in two years. Coincidentally, Martin and I did a case on the opposite sides. That case was a case that took us 32 good years. Martin came to inherit; I came to inherit. I did for about 10 years.

“The person who took from Martin could not keep up and luckily for us, we've finally got to the end of it… and this is the reality. And this is not a joke,” he shared.

Justice Abdulai said the experience reflects the challenges facing the country's judicial system and the need for reforms to speed up the hearing of cases.

Commenting on proposals to establish tribunals to handle criminal matters, he questioned the need for a new system when criminal courts already exist.

He suggested that expanding the circuit courts to focus on criminal cases would be a more practical solution.

“The tribunals as is suggested, in fact, if you read the report… they said that the Attorney General's position is that it is dealing with just criminal cases and my point is that we already have criminal high courts.

“We already have these other lower courts, the circuit court. Mind you, the district tribunal is likened to the circuit court, not even the district court. So if this is what we intend doing, why don't we have an expanded circuit court dedicated solely for fighting criminal cases?” he questioned.

“And guess what? This is just an administrative decision. You don't need logistics to do this. You simply have to have the structures existing and by the CJ's fiat, this happens. You don't suffer to gain this,” he added.

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He maintained that strengthening the existing court structure would be more effective than creating new tribunals to handle criminal cases.

If you are able to finish your court case within two years, consider it a birthday gift. Martin Kpebu and I inherited a case that lasted for about 32 years. - Justice Abdulai, Private Legal Practitioner#TheKeyPoints #TV3GH pic.twitter.com/wqDMhoNEgV

— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) July 18, 2026