Judicial Service set to establish debt recovery courts – Chief Justice

The Judicial Service is set to establish small claim debt recovery courts to recover monies borrowed by customers from financial institutions, thereby reducing the number of cases before the courts in the shift system.

Chief Justice, Mrs. Gertrude Torkornoo, announced this during a meeting with the Judicial Press Corps.

According to the Chief Justice, "since the inception of the Court Shift System this year, 30,000 cases were filed by Quick Credit Loans (now Bills), and the financial institution intends to file close to 55,000 debt-related cases."

She stated that the courts would sit on Saturdays and in the afternoons to help deal with the backlog of debt-related cases.

Mrs. Torkornoo further outlined that the establishment of the debt recovery court would help reduce the burden on judges, especially at the district courts, as well as ensure the timely delivery of justice.

The Small Claim Debt Recovery Courts will be piloted in the Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions.

Meanwhile, Director of IT at the Judicial Service, Noble Nutifafa, said the Service has made court judgments accessible to the public electronically. He said, "Judgments are now uploaded on the africanlii.org platform for easy accessibility by the public."

Relatedly, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has nominated two new judges to the Supreme Court bench following their approval by the Judicial Council.

The nominees are Professor Richard Frimpong Oppong, a legal academic and fellow of the Ghana Academy of Sciences, and Justice Sophia Rosetta Bernasko Essah, a justice of the Court of Appeal.

According to President Akufo-Addo, "both nominees are to be vetted by Parliament as constitutionally mandated." Prof. Frimpong Oppong, when approved, will join Prof. Henrietta Mensah-Bonsu as one of the legal academics on the bench of Ghana’s apex court. Justice Bernasko Essah, with her extensive background as a State Attorney, private legal practitioner, and as a Justice of the High Court and Court of Appeal, will also bring considerable experience to the Supreme Court when appointed.

Recently, the Chief Justice, Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, wrote a letter to President Akufo-Addo, asking him to nominate five judges to the Supreme Court. According to the Chief Justice, "the Supreme Court needs more judges to handle the overwhelming number of cases currently before it."

Among the judges recommended is Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe, the current judge presiding over the Ato Forson ambulance procurement trial. The four other judges are Justice Cyra Pamela Koranteng, Justice Edward Amoako Asante, Justice Eric Kyei Baffour, and Justice Angelina Mensah Homiah.

However, the Chief Justice's procedure has been widely condemned by various groups and individuals, including the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), with some calling for the resignation of the Chief Justice.

The latest nominations by the President did not include the names suggested by the Chief Justice, leaving many to wonder if the nominations have been rejected by the President or if they are still pending approval and consideration.

When the two new nominees are approved by Parliament, the current number of justices at the Supreme Court will increase to 17.