Judiciary of Ghana

Last updated

The Judiciary of Ghana comprises the Superior Courts of Judicature, established under the 1992 Constitution, and the Inferior Courts, established by Parliament. The hierarchy of courts derives largely from British juridical forms. The courts have jurisdiction over all civil and criminal matters.

Contents

Formal Structure of Ghanaian Judiciary

The Ghanaian Judiciary is divided into two sections: the Superior Courts of Judicature, and lower level courts or tribunals. [1] The Superior Courts of Judicature are outlined in the Ghanaian Constitution to be the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, and the High Court and Regional Tribunals. [1] There is no formal constitutional structure for the lower level courts and tribunals, as these are established on a case-by-case basis by Parliament. [1] The power of nominations of Justices throughout the Superior Courts of Judicature lies within the hands of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court along with the power of approval by the President. [1]

The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is composed of the Chief Justice and at least nine other Justices, but is able to hear cases with at least five Justices sitting at one time. [2] In order for someone to be nominated to the Supreme Court, they must have practiced law for at least 15 years prior to their nomination. [2] In terms of the functions of the court, the Supreme Court is the final court of appeals in all of Ghana and all lower level courts must abide by the decisions by which the Supreme Court comes to. [2] Though past decisions should be taken into account in decision making, the Supreme Court has the right to depart from any past decision in manners it sees fit and thus can change judicial precedent throughout the country. [2] All matters pertaining to the interpretation of the Constitution or evaluating an excess use of power by Parliament or any other authority figure in Ghana falls exclusively within the realm of jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. [2] Any matters pertaining to the supervision of any lower level courts throughout Ghana will fall solely to the Supreme Court as they have supreme supervisory jurisdiction. [2]

The Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal is composed of the Chief Justice, and no fewer than ten Justices of the Superior Courts, all of which need to practice at least 12 years of law before they are considered for appointment. [3] As of now, there are 31 Justices on the Court of Appeal. [4] Unlike the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal is bound by any previous decision it makes and thus is controlled to certain degree by the precedent that past justices have set. [3] The Court of Appeal is able to hear appeals from lower level Superior Courts and Regional Tribunals on decisions that have been made previously in said courts. [3]

The High Court

The High Court is made up of the Chief Justice, no less than 20 justices of the High Court, and any other Justice of the Superior Courts who, with consent from the Chief Justice, may sit in on the High Court's proceedings. Justices must have completed at least 10 years of legal practice before they can be considered for the job [5] and there is currently 108 members of the High Court. [4] The court hears appeals from the criminal judgement of the Circuit Courts, and all appeals from the District, Juvenile, and Family Tribunals. [4] Due to the vast array of subjects the High Court hears, it is divided into various subject areas including: Commercial, Land, General Jurisdiction, Divorce and Matrimonial, Probate and Letters of Administration, Labour, Criminal, Financial, and Human Rights. [4]

Regional Tribunals

The Regional Tribunals consist of the Chief Justice, 1 Chairman, and judges chosen by the Chief Justice to sit on the tribunals. [6] The qualifications for being able to serve on The Regional Tribunals are the same as The High Court. [6] These tribunals shall try offenses against the state and public interest as well as hear appeals from the lower courts and enforce the decisions of the higher ranking Superior Courts. [6]

Judiciary Dress

Higher court judges wear British-style outfits, including wigs made of horsehair and scarlet-coloured robes. [7]

The Judiciary's Role in Democracy

Preserving Human Rights

In many African nations, the Judiciary is responsible for handling grievances from citizens on various human rights issues. [8] However, due to issues around the access of judicial resources and corruption in many judiciaries, human rights violations in these types of climates often continue despite the involvement of the judiciary. [8] In Ghana, though, the Judiciary has a much different role in preserving human rights. The Superior Courts have the duty of preserving the Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms as is clearly outlined in the constitution that includes preserving equality for all genders, skin colors, origins, beliefs, and religions. [9] Additionally, The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice acts independently of the Judiciary and reviews human rights violations within Ghana and recommends policy changes accordingly. [8]

Former President John Kufuor (2008) John Kufuor 080915-A-8817J-090.JPG
Former President John Kufuor (2008)

Independence of the Judiciary

The Ghanaian Judiciary has a history of independence that originates from the 1992 constitution that proclaims that the only body able to outline how the Judiciary shall function is the constitution itself, [9] baring any external influence from other branches of government such as the President and Parliament. Neither one of these branches are able to interfere with judicial proceedings and verdicts, or else they may face judicial actions themselves. [9] Over the years, the Judiciary has exercised its independence through a number of verdicts that have gone against the ruling party at that time. [10] For example, during John Kuofor's administration, the Supreme Court ruled against his decision to remove a Deputy Director of Ghana's immigration service, Honadri Okine, on the grounds that it was politically motivated. [10] As a result, Kuofor's administration was forced to reinstate Okine. [10] Additionally, ever since 1992, the Supreme Court has continued to make decisions that strictly adhere to the Constitution, regardless of the administration, and has made strides in carving out a place for itself in society as the upholder of constitutional law. [11] Through all these decisions, the government has proved to be compliant, for the most part, with the rulings of the courts ever since the founding of the 4th Republic. [12]

Controversy

The Regional Judicial System

Much of the judicial work in Ghana takes place at the lower level courts that hear many criminal and civil cases. [13] As the population of Ghana is rapidly expanding to more than 29 million people, [14] these bodies are often faced with massive backlogs of cases that need to be heard. [13] This has led to overcrowding in prisons as people can sometimes be held for up to 6 years before their cases are even heard. [13] Most of this is said to be caused by inadequate access to resources and infrastructure for these courts, as devices such as microphones and tape recorders only started to appear in the courts around the year 2000. [13] The Regional Tribunals were established as institutions that would be able to hear appeals from these lower level courts and alleviate the stress they are under, but few appeals actually make it to these Regional Tribunals. [13] Due to how backed up cases are, and how costly they are to continue, many citizens have little interest in appealing a verdict for fear it might prolong the process. [13]

Journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas responsible for unearthing the 2015 judiciary scandal. Anas Aremeyaw Anas.jpg
Journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas responsible for unearthing the 2015 judiciary scandal.

Bribery and Corruption

In 2015, 34 Ghanaian judges were accused of soliciting bribes after an exposé by Anas Aremyaw Anas, a Ghanaian journalist. [15] The 22 lower court justices and 12 High Court judges were caught on camera demanding money and sex in return for influence over the judicial process. [15] An ensuing investigation led by the Chief Justice resulted in the removal of 20 lower court judges and 4 of the High Court judges. [16] Additionally, there have been multiple examples of lower level issues with corruption throughout the judicial system. In 2013, a High Court Judge and a Court Registrar were sentenced to 9 months and a year for embezzling $50,000 and splitting up the interest payments once it had been deposited. [17] Though crimes like these often cause a public uproar, many citizens really feel that the source of in justice is the disproportionate punishments for high-ranking officials and the common citizen. [17] For example, high level health officials were sentenced to 1 year in prison for stealing approximately $130,000 belonging to another office in Ghana. [17] However, in 2013, a court sentenced a man to 5 years in prison for stealing a goat from another citizen. These discrepancies in punishment would appear to expose the underlying power dynamics at play in the judicial sentencing processes across Ghana, and the struggles normal citizens face when confronting the judicial system. [17]

Public Opinion

According to Afrobarometer survey data, over half of Ghanaians surveyed have faith and trust in the Courts of Law. [18] However, about a quarter of Ghanaians only trust the courts a little, while 17% of Ghanaians do not trust the courts at all. [18] Thus, while the majority of Ghanaians show faith and trust in their legal institutions, many still remain skeptical of the courts [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

In law, certiorari is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. Certiorari comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of the lower court be sent to the superior court for review. The term is Latin for "to be made certain", and comes from the opening line of such writs, which traditionally began with the Latin words "Certiorari volumus...".

In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction, which is restricted to civil cases involving monetary amounts with a specific limit, or criminal cases involving offenses of a less serious nature. A superior court may hear appeals from lower courts. For courts of general jurisdiction in civil law system, see ordinary court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supreme Court of Ireland</span> Highest judicial authority in Ireland

The Supreme Court of Ireland is the highest judicial authority in Ireland. It is a court of final appeal and exercises, in conjunction with the Court of Appeal and the High Court, judicial review over Acts of the Oireachtas. The Supreme Court also has appellate jurisdiction to ensure compliance with the Constitution of Ireland by governmental bodies and private citizens. It sits in the Four Courts in Dublin.

The court system of Canada forms the country's judiciary, formally known as "The King on the Bench", which interprets the law and is made up of many courts differing in levels of legal superiority and separated by jurisdiction. Some of the courts are federal in nature, while others are provincial or territorial.

The judiciary of Australia comprises judges who sit in federal courts and courts of the States and Territories of Australia. The High Court of Australia sits at the apex of the Australian court hierarchy as the ultimate court of appeal on matters of both federal and State law.

The courts of Northern Ireland are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in Northern Ireland: they are constituted and governed by the law of Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supreme Court of Nepal</span> Highest court in Nepal

The Supreme Court of Nepal is the highest court in Nepal. It has appellate jurisdiction over decisions of the seven High Courts and extraordinary original jurisdiction. The court consists of twenty Justices and one Chief Justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supreme Court of Singapore</span> National supreme court

The Supreme Court of Singapore is a set of courts in Singapore, comprising the Court of Appeal and the High Court. It hears both civil and criminal matters. The Court of Appeal hears both civil and criminal appeals from the High Court. The Court of Appeal may also decide a point of law reserved for its decision by the High Court, as well as any point of law of public interest arising in the course of an appeal from a court subordinate to the High Court, which has been reserved by the High Court for decision of the Court of Appeal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Court of Singapore</span> Lower division of national supreme court

The High Court of Singapore is the lower division of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the upper division being the Court of Appeal. The High Court consists of the chief justice and the judges of the High Court. Judicial Commissioners are often appointed to assist with the Court's caseload. There are two specialist commercial courts, the Admiralty Court and the Intellectual Property Court, and a number of judges are designated to hear arbitration-related matters. In 2015, the Singapore International Commercial Court was established as part of the Supreme Court of Singapore, and is a division of the High Court. The other divisions of the high court are the General Division, the Appellate Division, and the Family Division. The seat of the High Court is the Supreme Court Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Court of Appeal of Singapore</span> Supreme appellate court of Singapore

The Court of Appeal of Singapore is the highest court in the judicial system of Singapore. It is the upper division of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the lower being the High Court. The Court of Appeal consists of the chief justice, who is the president of the Court, and the judges of the Court of Appeal. The chief justice may ask judges of the High Court to sit as members of the Court of Appeal to hear particular cases. The seat of the Court of Appeal is the Supreme Court Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supreme court</span> Highest court in a jurisdiction

In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, and highcourt of appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of a supreme court are not subject to further review by any other court. Supreme courts typically function primarily as appellate courts, hearing appeals from decisions of lower trial courts, or from intermediate-level appellate courts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judiciary of Pakistan</span> Hierarchical system with two classes of courts

The judiciary of Pakistan is a hierarchical system with two classes of courts: the superior judiciary and the subordinate judiciary. The superior judiciary is composed of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Federal Shariat Court and five High Courts, with the Supreme Court at the apex. There is a High Court for each of the four provinces as well as a High Court for the Islamabad Capital Territory. The Constitution of Pakistan entrusts the superior judiciary with the obligation to preserve, protect and defend the constitution. Neither the Supreme Court nor a High Court may exercise jurisdiction in relation to Tribal Areas, except otherwise provided for. The disputed regions of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan have separate court systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supreme Court of Ghana</span> Highest judicial body in Ghana

The Supreme Court of Ghana is the highest judicial body in Ghana. Ghana's 1992 constitution guarantees the independence and separation of the Judiciary from the Legislative and the Executive arms of government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief Justice of Ghana</span> Highest-ranking judge of the Supreme Court of Ghana

The chief justice of Ghana is the highest-ranking judge of the Supreme Court of Ghana. The chief justice is also the head of the Judiciary of Ghana and is responsible for its administration and supervision. In order of state precedence, the chief justice is the fourth highest official in Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judiciary of Colombia</span>

The judiciary of Colombia is a branch of the State of Colombia that interprets and applies the laws of Colombia, to ensure equal justice under law, and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution. The judiciary comprises a hierarchical system of courts presided over by judges, magistrates and other adjudicators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitution of Ghana</span> Supreme Law of Ghana

The Constitution of Ghana is the supreme law of the Republic of Ghana. It was approved on 28 April 1992 through a national referendum after 92% support. It defines the fundamental political principles, establishing the structure, procedures, powers and duties of the government, structure of the judiciary and legislature, and spells out the fundamental rights and duties of citizens. It is made up of 26 chapters, not including the preamble.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judicial independence in Singapore</span> Judicial independence in the nation

Judicial independence is protected by Singapore's Constitution, statutes such as the State Courts Act and Supreme Court of Judicature Act, and the common law. Independence of the judiciary is the principle that the judiciary should be separated from legislative and executive power, and shielded from inappropriate pressure from these branches of government, and from private or partisan interests. It is crucial as it serves as a foundation for the rule of law and democracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judiciary of Kenya</span>

The Judiciary of Kenya is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in Kenya. After the promulgation of the constitution of Kenya in 2010, the general public, through parliament, sought to reform the judiciary. Parliament passed the Magistrates and Judges Vetting Act of 2011. A major part of reforming the judiciary was the vetting of Magistrates and Judges in an attempt to weed out unsuitable ones. The Judicature Act has also been amended to raise the minimum number of Magistrates and Judges allowing more judicial officers to be hired. More magistrates and judges are needed to clear the backlog of cases that have caused great delay in the conclusion of cases and to staff new courts. New courts are needed to bring the courts closer to the people which is in line with devolution, a major principle written into the Constitution of 2010. New courts like the High Court opened in Garissa in November 2014 is a good example. In the past residents of North Eastern Kenya had to go all the way to Embu to access a High Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judiciary of New Zealand</span> National court system

The judiciary of New Zealand is responsible for the system of courts that interprets and applies the laws of New Zealand. It has four primary functions: to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution; to deliver authoritative rulings on the meaning and application of legislation; to develop case law; and to uphold the rule of law, personal liberty and human rights. The judiciary is supported in its work by an executive department, the Ministry of Justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judiciary of Sierra Leone</span>

The Judiciary of Sierra Leone is the branch of the Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone which interprets and applies the laws of Sierra Leone to ensure impartial justice under law and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution. The independence of the judiciary is guaranteed by the constitution.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Ghana's Constitution of 1992 with Amendments through 1996" (PDF). Constitute Project. 1992-04-28 – via Constitute.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ghana's Constitution of 1992 with Amendments through 1996" (PDF). Constitute Project. 1992-04-28 – via Constitute.
  3. 1 2 3 "Ghana's Constitution of 1992 with Amendments through 1996" (PDF). Constitute Project. 1992-04-28 – via Constitute.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "The Judicial service of Ghana". www.judicial.gov.gh. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  5. ↑ "Ghana's Constitution of 1992 with Amendments through 1996" (PDF). Constitute Project. 1992-04-28 – via Constitute.
  6. 1 2 3 "Ghana's Constitution of 1992 with Amendments through 1996" (PDF). Constitute Project. 1992-04-28 – via Constitute.
  7. ↑ Fredua-Kwarteng, Y. "Our Judges Still Wearing Wigs!". ModernGhana.com. MG Media Group. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
  8. 1 2 3 Sondem, Stephen (2012). "NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS-THE GHANAIAN EXPERIENCE" (PDF). ЕВРОДИЈАЛОГ Списание за европски прашања. 16: 239–255.
  9. 1 2 3 "Ghana's Constitution of 1992 with Amendments through 1996" (PDF). Constitute Project. 1992-04-28 – via Constitute.
  10. 1 2 3 Akins, Papoola; Ade, Omosebi (2018). "Democratic Consolidation in Africa: The Ghanaian Paradigm". International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences. 3.
  11. ↑ Luna, Joseph (2015). "Judicial Independence in an African State" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  12. ↑ "Country Graph | V-Dem | Ghana | Compliance With Judiciary". www.v-dem.net. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 https://academic.oup.com/afraf/article-abstract/99/394/47/9040.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ↑ "Africa :: Ghana — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  15. 1 2 "Ghanaian judges sacked over bribery". BBC News. 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  16. ↑ "Four Ghana judges suspended in bribery scandal: presidency". GAN Integrity. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Amissah, Patrick Kofi (2019-10-07). "Amos and 'Ghana in the Eyes of God': a Public Theological Response to Bribery and Corruption" (PDF). International Journal of Public Theology. 13 (3): 282–300. doi:10.1163/15697320-12341579. ISSN   1569-7320. S2CID   210381944.
  18. 1 2 3 "The online data analysis tool | Afrobarometer". afrobarometer.org. Archived from the original on 2020-08-22. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.