By Morkporkpor Anku/ Joyce Danso
Accra, April 4, GNA – Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkonoo announced on Thursday that the Judicial Service will resume Court of Appeal sittings nationwide in April 2024.
The Judicial Service halted some Court of Appeal sittings in 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Addressing members of the Judicial Press Corps on a wide range of issues, the Chief Justice said the Court of Appeal in Kumasi would serve Ashanti, Bono East and West and Ahafo regions.
She said that the Service was putting in place structures to enable the Court of Appeal in Kumasi to do virtual hearings to better serve the people in Tamale and the northern part of the country.
Chief Justice Torkonoo said cases of Appeal from the Western North would also be handled by the Court of Appeal in Kumasi because of proximity, while the Central and Western Court of Appeal would be reopened in Sekondi and not Cape Coast.
She explained that the decision to move the Court of Appeal to Sekondi was made because the facilities in Cape Coast had deteriorated and needed new infrastructure.
Chief Justice Torkonoo said more cases were recorded in the Central and Western Regions than in the Volta and Eastern Regions, which had fewer.
She said the decisions were made following extensive engagement with Parliament, the Ghana Bar Association, and other stakeholders in the justice delivery chain.
The Chief Justice said the Service had developed a curriculum for paralegal training and was working with the Judicial Training Institute and Ministry of Finance on the modalities to deliver training for trainees outside the judiciary.
She mentioned that as part of an ongoing project, the Judicial Service was renovating all washrooms in the Supreme Court Building, which were 70 per cent completed.
She announced that on April 8, 2024, she would share her vision for effective justice delivery and launch an outreach where justice would be served effortlessly.
GNA