‘We deal with over 180 cases a month’; CJ justifies request for more SC judges

Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo has once again justified her proposal for an increase in the number of judges at the Supreme Court.

In a letter addressed to the President, she highlighted the pressing need for this increase, stating, “In view of the realities of the court’s workload and output and the need for the court to appropriately serve the justice needs of the nation.”

She further explained the current working conditions of the Supreme Court of Ghana (SCOG), which operates three days a week in alternating weeks to manage its workload.

“Two days are used for panel sitting, and one day for the sitting of a single judge. The SCOG therefore sits 12 times a month. On any given day of sitting, the court deals with a minimum of 15 cases and so works on not fewer than 45 matters in a week or approximately 180 matters in a month,” she elaborated.

She warned of the consequences of not increasing the number of judges, which would lead to delayed decision-making and delivery.

She expressed her concern over the potential situation where justices of the Supreme Court would have to sit every week, participate in multiple panels, and triple the number of hearings, only to end the year with the same backlog of cases as was the case in July 2021.