Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo says a Court complex in the Adaklu District has not been officially handed over to the Judiciary.
‘The Adaklu Court complex has not been handed over to us. Work is not done, the outside looks good, but the inside is not done. Until it is done and the keys are handed over to us, we cannot use it. The security systems are not yet in place.’
The Chief Justice said this during an interaction with the Judicial Press Corps at the Law Court Complex in Accra.
She was reacting to calls on the Judiciary to commission an abandoned court complex in the Adaklu District by some residents.
Media reports indicate that the Court Complex was constructed in the year 2020 and despite its completion, it has been left unattended, with weeds and rodents taking over the premises.
The Chief Justice urged the media to cross-check information before publication.
Justice Torkornoo said the country had about 439 courts nationwide.
Additionally, she said there were over 100 new courts being c
onstructed out of which 70 had been commissioned.
On the use of judges as Registrars of some courts, the Chief Justice said it was best practice to have judicial staff obtain legal training to best deliver on their duties.
She said the practice was done in Tanzania, and Uganda, adding that the lack of legal training for staff, had been one of the weaknesses of the country’s judicial system.
On the Court Shift System, which was rolled out on March 25, 2024, she said the system was to reduce caseloads on some of the courts, which had between 600 to1000 cases.
The Chief Justice said the Judicial Service would in four months’ time evaluate the shift system for it to be replicated in other regions.
Source: Ghana News Agency