CJ has shown the way; shift system for courts to lead to financial savings for businesses & individuals – Franklin Cudjoe

Founding President of IMANI Africa Franklin Cudjjoe has welcomed the move by the Judicial Service to run a shift system for the courts.

In a Facebook post, he said that there would be financial savings for businesses and individuals while making investors happy.

“The Courts should be running 24/7 to fastrack not only the huge backlog of cases, but to dispense justice speedily and fairly.

“There would be financial savings for businesses and individuals while making investors happy. The Chief Justice has shown the way. It is possible for JM to do this in targeted sectors of our economy,” Mr Cudjoe said.

As part of efforts to clear the backlog of pending cases across the country, the Judicial Service of Ghana has introduced a court shift system.

The rationale 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, A statement issued by the Judicial Secretary, Pamela Koranteng, said.

“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 statement added.

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 rationale 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.