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The facility also has a dedicated space for Court connected ADR, and is equipped with DTS (Direct Transcription System) to facilitate the adjudication process.
With the inauguration of this Circuit Court, it is my expectation that the justice needs of the Ada East District and its surrounding communities will be served in a robust manner as cases will be disposed of with a greater sense of urgency through the complement of human effort with ICT.
All officers of the Judicial Service are also to ensure that this building and the facilities in it are regularly maintained so they can continue to deliver optimum service to justify the significant investment that has been made by the Ada Municipal Assembly.
For this newly constructed Circuit Court to function productively, administrative Staff must effectively assist the Circuit Judge with competence, diligence and integrity.
To this end, I urge the Staff who would be working in this Court to exhibit a high level of professionalism in the discharge of their duties.
I would like to remind Staff that most citizens and stakeholders who patronize our services are often stressed by the issues that bring them to court.
They need assistance and that is why they turn to the courts for justice.
The service we provide is a public good that is carefully crafted by law to serve the nation, deepen peace and stability, and ensure prosperity.
I urge you to ensure that this court presents a new and friendlier face of justice in the Ada Municipality.
In concluding my address, I would like to place on record once again, our gratitude to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development for the successful implementation of the project and the District Assemblies Common Fund and its Administrator, Mrs.
Our gratitude also goes to the Ada Municipal Assembly and the Traditional Authorities for making land available for this project and to all our other distinguished invited guests for taking time out of their busy schedule to be here with us today.
It is my pleasure at this juncture to declare the Circuit Court, Ada duly inaugurated.
May this Court be a blessing to all, especially its users and may they find and experience true justice and peace through this court.
ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE LADY CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA, JUSTICE GERTRUDE SACKEY TORKORNOO, ON THE OCCASION OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE CIRCUIT COURT, KWABENYA, ON FRIDAY, JULY 28, 2023 Hon.
Chairman, My Lords, Judges and Magistrates, Municipal Chief Executive, Ga East Municipal Assembly The Hon.
Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya Niimei, Naamei, Members of the Bar, Distinguished Invited Guests, The Media, Ladies and Gentlemen, It gives me great pleasure to be here with you this morning to inaugurate this beautiful, brand new court house, the Circuit Court, Kwabenya for the people who live and work in this bustling community and its environs.
I thank you all distinguished personalities for joining us to share in this happy occasion.
This court house which is purpose built is a most welcome development for this municipality and could not have come at a better time.
The old Circuit Court, housed in a residential property rented by the Ga East Municipal Assembly, for which the Judicial Service is grateful, could no longer fully cater for the justice needs of the Municipality, hence the need for a new Court.
Ladies and gentlemen, our country, like all developing countries, needs to make the law central to its development agenda.
While the law may predominantly be recognized as an instrument of regulating human behaviour and punishing ill conduct, it is also just as importantly, a tool for dispute resolution.
This makes it a necessary feature of any evolving society that wants to preserve peace and foster prosperity.
Our very survival as societies depend on the system of justice that is available to us.
And by available, I mean in the sense that it must be free from corruption, accessible to all citizens regardless of rank or social standing and also physically within the reach of those who need it.
Since independence, we have struggled to fulfill all three of these conditions.
Our efforts, tireless as they are, have not brought us the success that we crave.
Nevertheless, that is not to write off our attempts as failures.
Today, we are instilling in the Judicial Service every higher standards of ethical conduct.
As we have grown as a society, we have engineered ways in which we can assist the less well off in our society to access justice.
Through our judicial reforms, we are facilitating greater access to justice for the most vulnerable of our compatriots, including the physically challenged and those already incarcerated.
Today, we celebrate another way in which we expand the frontiers of justice in our country with the inauguration of the Circuit Court, Kwabenya.
The facility also has a dedicated space for Court Connected ADR, and is equipped with a Direct Transcription System (DTS) to facilitate the adjudication process.
This court right here in Kwabenya, opens a most welcome avenue for the people of this thriving commercial and residential hub, to have justice whenever they need it.
Through this Court, we can allow more and more people to see justice being dispensed at close range and thus build confidence and inspire trust.
And that will depend, in large measure, on the people who come to work in it.
This should impose on them a responsibility to be honest, fair and transparent in all their dealings with the citizens who come here to seek justice.
We must ensure that we are not only fair and just, but are seen by all to be so, so that the people who patronize our services will feel confident in seeking redress from this building and what it represents.
That is the only way in which we can ensure that the building achieves its purpose of being.
It is also my hope that the building is well maintained and not allowed to fall into premature ruin and disrepair.
While we hope for more, we must maintain what we have.
Years to come, I hope that when we gather here, it will be to inaugurate a much larger edifice and not to mourn a crumbling piece of architecture that endangers those who work in it and repulses those who might need it.
Our gratitude also goes to the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission for graciously releasing land for the project and the Ga East Municipal Assembly and in particular the Hon.
Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo, for facilitating the process.
We are also grateful to all our other distinguished invited guests for taking time out of their busy schedule to be here with us today.
It is my pleasure at this juncture to declare the Circuit Court, Kwabenya duly inaugurated.
May this Court be a blessing to all, especially its users and may they find and experience true justice in this court.
ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE LADY CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA, JUSTICE GERTRUDE SACKEY TORKORNOO, ON THE OCCASION OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE CIRCUIT COURT, NEW ABIREM, ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2023 My Lords, Judges and Magistrates, Hon.
Member of Parliament, MP, Birim North Constituency Obrempong Nana Akwasi Amoh Kyeretwie I, Abiremhene Nananom, Abirem District Chief Executive, Birim North District Assembly Distinguished Invited Guests, The Media, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning.
It gives me great pleasure to be here with you, in this serene, green and beautiful town of New Abirem in the Birim North District, to inaugurate a new Circuit Court for its people and surrounding communities.
I thank you all distinguished personalities for joining us to share in this significant occasion.
A purpose built court is a most welcome development for any developing community.
In recent times, much attention has been brought to the improvement of the national stock of physical infrastructure in which justice is dispensed in this country.
It is heart-warming to see the expressions of concern and solidarity that have come from members of the general public who have appreciated this effort to provide befitting facilities not only for the well-being of those who work in these buildings and under these conditions, but for the very concept and delivery of justice itself.
One of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that all nations are tasked to pursue, is access to justice for all citizens.
Another Sustainable Development Goal is the building of effective and accountable institutions at all levels.
This requires that we commit to the pursuit of justice and equal rights for all and the provision of the physical resources with which to establish this right.
Indeed, all the reforms that that Judicial Service of Ghana has embarked on the last twenty years, including the computerization and automation of the courts, find effective implementation in adequate physical infrastructure.
The challenge for appropriate infrastructure is especially acute at the district level, where lack of access to justice can lead directly to loss of confidence and reduction in the use of the tools of justice.
Without a doubt, this is a challenge we must address if we are to provide the necessary guarantees of peace, security and investor confidence that our country needs.
The Judicial Service of Ghana has to play its part in the growth of the economy.
Law makes three promises – Order, Justice and Peace which brings prosperity.
It is for this reason that we are most pleased that the Birim North District Assembly has taken on this challenge frontally in constructing this Circuit Court to address the justice needs of the people of New Abirem and its environs.
Ladies and gentlemen, the administration of justice cannot be left to lawyers and judges alone.
The directions and content of law is so important and so vital to our nation that all citizens must take a keen interest in all matters to do with its administration.
If we are to thrive and prosper as a nation, then the law needs to be in known, understood, be applied to all and be policed by all.
That all of you are here today is evidence that here in New Abirem, we are all ready to do our bit for the growth of access to justice in the country.
This building and all that is in it, has only been possible through the immense commitment and sacrifices of the Birim North District Assembly.
Article 125(1) of the 1992 Constitution directs that “justice emanates from the people and shall be administered by the Judiciary……..” The administration of justice must therefore be brought to the doorsteps of citizens, so that they have recourse to it with the minimum of effort.
This is what has happened today in, New Abirem.
Now that the administration of justice has been brought close, I wish to urge all citizens to take advantage of its presence and powers to right wrong and correct offences.
As citizens, the law is our most potent avenue for the resolution of conflicts.
It is the cornerstone of all modern societies.
This is how the peace that we are so proud to have in Ghana can be maintained.
This court we are inaugurating today is part of the nationwide construction of one hundred Courthouses programme embarked upon by Government in 2020 to improve judicial infrastructure.
A secure and furnished 3-bedroom residential accommodation has also been provided for the Judge to ensure he/she has the right environment to work and deliver justice as mandated by the Constitution.
The bungalow has also been provided with solar power, a generator and a borehole.
With the inauguration of this Circuit Court, it is my expectation that the justice needs of the Birim North District and its surrounding communities will be served in a robust manner as cases will be disposed of with a greater sense of urgency through the complement of human effort with ICT.
The Judicial Service will also ensure that this building and the facilities in it are regularly maintained so they can continue to deliver optimum service to justify the significant investment that has been made by the Birim North District Assembly.
This newly constructed Circuit Court, will not be of much use if the administrative Staff do not effectively assist the Circuit Judge to function effectively.
To this end, I will urge the Staff who would be working in this Court to exhibit a high level of professionalism in the discharge of their duties.
I would like to remind Staff that most clients who patronize our services are often physically and emotionally stressed.
They need assistance with technicalities as they turn to the courts for justice.
I urge you to ensure that this court which serves as a first point of contact presents a new and friendlier face of justice in the Birim North District.
Our gratitude also goes to the Birim North District Assembly Municipal Assembly for making land available for the court and to all our other distinguished invited guests for taking time out of their busy schedule to be here with us today.
It is my pleasure at this juncture to declare the Circuit Court, New Abirem duly inaugurated.
ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE LADY CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA, JUSTICE GERTRUDE SACKEY TORKORNOO, ON THE OCCASION OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE DISTRICT COURT, AKWATIA, ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2023 My Lords, Judges and Magistrates, Hon.
Member of Parliament, Hon.
Henry Boakye Yiadom, Mp for Akwatia Constituency Daasebre Dr.
Nyarko Asumadu Appiah, Chief of Wenchi Osabarima Oware Asare Pinkro III – Chief of Apinamang Osabarima Owusu Nkatia II – Chief of Takrowase Barima Kwasi Agyarkwa Annor – Chief of Boadu Nananom District Chief Executive, Denkyembour District Assembly, Mr.
Seth Birikorang Ofosu District Coordinating Director Members of the Bar Distinguished Invited Guests The Media, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning.
It gives me great pleasure to be here with you, in this famous, ancient commercial town – Akwatia, to inaugurate a new District Court for its inhabitants and surrounding communities.
A purpose built court is a welcome development for every developing town.
In recent times, much attention has been drawn to the state of the physical infrastructure in which justice is dispensed in this country.
It has been heart-warming to observe the expressions of concern and solidarity that have come from members of the general public who have appreciated the effort to provide befitting facilities not only for the well-being of those who work in court buildings but for the growth of development and delivery of justice around the country.
Another Sustainable Development Goals is the building of effective and accountable institutions at all levels.
This requires that the nation commits to the pursuit of justice and equal rights for all and the provision of the physical resources with which to wage this pursuit.
Indeed, all the reforms that the Judicial Service of Ghana has embarked on in the last twenty years, including the computerization and automation of the courts cannot be fully realized without adequate physical infrastructure.
The challenge is especially acute at the district level, where shabby infrastructure can lead to loss of confidence and reduction in the use of the tools of justice.
These are challenges that must be addressed if the country is to provide the necessary guarantees of peace, security and investor confidence.
The Judiciary has to play its part in ensuring economic growth of the nation.
It is for this reason that I express my extreme delight that the Denkyembour District Assembly has taken on this challenge frontally in constructing this Circuit Court to address the justice needs of the people of Akwatia and its environs.
Ladies and gentlemen, it has long been the belief of the third arm of government that the administration of justice cannot be left to lawyers and judges alone.
The law is so important and so vital to nationhood that all must take a keen interest in its administration.
If we are to survive and thrive as a nation state, then justice delivery must be done well, and the law must be applied to all and be policed by all.
That all of you are here today is evidence that here in Akwatia, all actors in the community are ready to do their part in justice delivery.
This building and all that is in it, has only been possible through the immense commitment and sacrifices of the Denkyembour District Assembly.
The Judiciary accepts that justice delivery must be brought to the doorsteps of citizens, so that they are able to have recourse to it with the minimum of effort.
Now that justice delivery has been brought closer, I wish to urge all citizens to take advantage of its presence and powers to right wrong and correct offences.
As citizens, the courts are our most potent avenue for the resolution of conflicts.
Happily, here in Ghana, we find that more and more people are applying to the courts to address their grievances.
This is how the peace that we are so proud to have in the country can be maintained.
This court house being inaugurated today is part of the nationwide construction of one hundred Courthouses programme embarked upon by Government in 2020 to improve judicial infrastructure.
With the inauguration of this District Court, it is our expectation that the justice needs of the Denkyembour District and its surrounding communities will be served in a stronger manner as cases will be disposed of with a greater sense of urgency through the complement of human effort with ICT.
This newly constructed District Court, will not be as useful if the administrative Staff do not effectively assist the Magistrate to function effectively.
Integrity and Independence of the Judiciary cannot and must not be compromised.
I would like to remind Staff that most stakeholders who patronize the services of courts are often stressed.
They need assistance and help as they turn to the courts for justice.
It is my hope that this court which serves as a first point of contact would present a new and friendlier face of justice in the Denkyembour District.
Irene Naa Torshie Addo Lartey, whose drive, enthusiasm and leadership has made it possible for us to be here today.
Our gratitude also goes to the Denkyembour District Assembly for making land available for this project and to all our other distinguished invited guests for taking time out of their busy schedule to be here with us today.
It is my pleasure at this juncture to declare the District Court, Akwatia duly inaugurated.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA, HER LADYSHIP JUSTICE GERTRUDE ARABA ESAABA SACKEY TORKORNOO, ON THE OCCASION OF THE 1 4 TH MARITIME LAW SEMINAR FOR JUDGES OF THE SUPERIOR COURTS OF JUDICATURE – 7th July 2023 Your Lordship Justice ….., Chair of today’s occasion The Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Shippers’ Authority Honourable Ministers of State Justices of the Superior Courts of Judicature Distinguished Guests The Media Ladies and Gentlemen Thank you very much for this opportunity to deliver the keynote address at this important national event that straddles the calendars of the Judiciary, the Ghana Shippers Authority and the shipping industry.
For more than a decade, the Ghana Shippers Authority has committed itself to providing this banner of learning to deepen the wealth of knowledge and experience in maritime law for Judges of the superior courts.
I recall with fondness how this work started a few years after I joined the commercial division of the high court.
It has unflaggingly continued to bring us to this 14 th edition.
On behalf of all judges who have been beneficiaries of this seminar, I say Ayekoo to the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA), its past and present Chief Executives, Dr Kofi Mbiah and Ms Benonita Bismark, whose visionary leadership continue to sustain the annual seminar, the planning committee of the seminar who continue to do a most excellent job, and the leadership of the Judicial Training Institute who guide the process from the end of the Judicial Service of Ghana.
The purpose for institutionalizing this seminar will always remain relevant, as long as the human conduct of business by sea remains, and the business of administering justice and developing the jurisprudence that supports this global arena remains critical to enterprise.
I am particularly delighted to note that even with the effluxion of time, the quality of organisation to support this noble quest has remained excellent.
This year’s seminar as always, is aimed at equipping judges to deal with the challenges of interpreting and applying maritime laws for the expeditious and equitable settlement of shipping-related disputes.
Today’s exposition is expected to cover salient topics, including; Security in the Maritime Domain and Ghana’s Criminal Law Regime The Legal Regime for the Arrest of Ships in Ghana, and The International Carriage of Goods by Sea Law in Ghana; Time for Needed Change.
These topics are germane considering that the maritime world is very dynamic and competitive and world cargo throughput is seeing a rebound from the global supply chain disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The anticipated increase in maritime economic activities within our territory is bound to unearth problems relating to the carriage of goods by the various modes of transportation and for that matter the inescapable consequences of disputes associated with international transactions.
The fact that the need for a capable, ready and vibrant Judiciary with the necessary appreciation of the architecture of legal regimes supporting the international carriage of goods will feed into making trade to and from Ghana a more attractive option for global capital cannot at all be downplayed.
This sustained effort of GSA to promote a sound maritime legal regime culture, coupled with the Judicial Training Institute’s (JTI) Continuing Legal Education (CLE) response, is therefore enabling Ghana build the requisite judicial capacity to effectively adjudicate maritime cases as well as other trade-related transactions fairly, impartially and timeously.
This is the only means by which investor confidence in our economy would be enhanced and contribute to make Ghana and indeed the entire West Africa sub-region a safe and prosperous investor destination.
My Lord Chair , I have no doubt that, the distinguished facilitators will do great justice to the topics selected for the seminar and equip participants to better appreciate the international framework of rules, regulations, conventions, laws, and institutions within the international maritime law terrain.
While discussing law and trade, two pillars of life that contribute to peace and prosperity, it is to be noted also that both law and trade flourish only in times of peace and prosperity.
Therefore, allow me to highlight the state of maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea and the threat it poses to West Africa’s shipping industry that has been brought to my attention.
According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), in 2020, there were 84 attacks on ships, and 135 seafarers were kidnapped for ransom in the Gulf of Guinea.
Prior to 2020, the Gulf of Guinea experienced an increase of about 50% in kidnapping for ransom between 2018 and 2019 and about a 10% increase between 2019 and 2020.
Fortunately, the Gulf of Guinea has witnessed a steady decline in incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea since the beginning of 2022.
This notwithstanding, more needs to be done to fully operationalize the maritime security architecture that provides the foundation for strong justice delivery and administration and increased international trade.
I am informed that in its Global Maritime Security Conclusions adopted on 19 th June 2017, the IMB recognized the problematic situation in the Gulf of Guinea.
It underlined the need for regional states to take ownership and adapt their legal systems to fight piracy.
The Council also welcomed the bilateral initiatives of member states in the European Union (EU) and advocated the need to coordinate them with ongoing EU initiatives.
The continued problems in the Gulf of Guinea create serious concerns about the security of seafarers sailing in that area, disrupt trade flow and have a direct impact on the ability of our ports to serve as a hub for maritime trade.
A poor security situation also imposes high costs on imports and exports and puts jobs and economic activities at risk.