Ghanaian Courts To Run A Shift System To Help Reduce Case Backlog
The Honourable Lady Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana, Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo has announced the introduction of a “Court Shift System” on pilot basis.
The introduction will optimise the use of existing court resources to reduce the volume of cases before the courts effective March 25, 2024.
According to a statement signed by the Judicial secretary, Justice Tyra Pamela C.A. Koranteng (JA), the rational for the court shift system stems from the fact that findings from a physical count of the dockets undertaken in all courts nationwide demonstrated that a number of identified courts have huge caseloads with some in excess of 600 pending cases.
The Judiciary believes the Court Shift System when implemented will reduce the backlog of cases in the specified courts, improve accessibility to justice for citizens by offering flexible court hours that accommodate diverse schedules, and enhance the overall effectiveness of the judicial system.
On a pilot basis, the Court Shift System will be implemented on a pilot basis in the under-listed eight (8) selected Courts:
- High Court ‘1’, Adentan
- High Court ‘2’, Adentan
- High Court 1, Amasaman
- Circuit Court, Weija
- District Court, La
- District Court, Teshie
- District Courts A&B, Madina
- High Court, Nsawam
The morning shift for affected Courts will be from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. while the afternoon session will be from 2:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
