The Judicial Service has initiated a major reform programme to improve on the efficiency of the judicial system and enrich the adjudication process.
In line with this, the Service has over the years initiated and implemented innovative mechanisms and measures as part of the reforms agenda to employ best practices worldwide to bring the justice delivery system at par with current international standards.
These were contained in a speech read on behalf of Justice, Georgina Theodora Woode, the Chief Justice at the inauguration of the Amasaman Circuit Court in the Greater Accra Region.
She said the reforms agenda sought to make justice delivery more accessible in order to remove the barrier of distance “which impacts on justice delivery and reduce the time spent on delivering justice”.
Justice Woode added that lack of office accommodation and obsolete equipment were some of the problems confronting the service.
She said the Judicial Service had for several years experienced extreme shortage in accommodation and inadequate supply of facilities needed for effective justice delivery.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Mrs Justice Woode urged litigants and lawyers to fully patronise the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism which had proved to be speedy, cheaper and less laborious compared with the formal adversarial system.
Justice Woode thanked the Ga West Municipal Assembly for facilitating the establishment of the court and advised staff of the court to exhibit a high level of professionalism.
Access to justice
For his part, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the Ga West Municipal Assembly, Mr Sam Atukwei Quaye, said the assembly, in collaboration with the Judicial Service, established the court to complement the existing magistrate court to dispense justice.
According to Mr Quaye, the establishment of the court would decongest the capital as cases that were hitherto filed in Accra would be handled in Amasaman.
“Court users from this part of the region shall also be saved the trouble and stress of accessing courts in Accra amidst the heavy traffic congestion”, he said.
