Judicial Service introduces court shift system to clear backlog of cases

The Judicial Service of Ghana has introduced a court shift system to help clear the backlog of pending cases across the country.

A statement issued by the Judicial Secretary, Pamela Koranteng, to some selected eight courts indicated that some courts across the country have over 600 pending cases.

The intention of the court shift system, therefore, according to the Judicial Secretary, is to reduce the backlog.

The system will have two shifts, the morning from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and the afternoon session from 2:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Below is the full statement of the Judicial Secretary.

We write to inform you that, the Honourable Lady Chief Justice has introduced a “Court Shift System” on a pilot basis by optimizing the use of existing court resources to reduce the volume of cases before the Courts, effective 25. March 2024.

The rational for the Court Shift System stems from the fact that, findings from a physical count of dockets undertaken in all courts nationwide demonstrated that a number of identified courts have huge caseloads, with some in excess of 600 pending cases.

It is envisaged that 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.

The Court Shift System will be implemented on a pilot basis in the under-listed eight (8) selected Courts:

1. High Court ‘1’, Adentan

2. High Court ‘2’, Adentan

3. High Court 1, Amasaman

4. Circuit Court, Weija

5. District Court, La

6. District Court, Teshie

7. District Courts A&B, Madina

8. 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.