'Access To Justice' Plan Launched

Joe Ghartey is the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in Ghana

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday, 01 May 2008
THE Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Joe Ghartey, yesterday formally launched the ‘Access to Justice’ programme, an initiative of the ministry to bring justice delivery to the doorstep of the public especially women, the poor and the under-privileged.

The programme, which has been on-going since last year focuses specifically on decongesting the prisons.

Under that, the Judicial Service sets up a courtroom in the prison to consider cases of people who have been on remand for a long time. The court is currently operating in the Nsawam Maximum Security Prisons.

With the launch yesterday, the programme will empirically explore, explain and discuss the difficulties that the public, particularly women face in claiming their rights in a democratic society.

Mr Ghartey said in a keynote address that the launch had been preceded by a series of studies and researches into areas that made it impossible for women, the poor, vulnerable and under-privileged to seek justice and claim their rights.

The recommendations, he said, will be incorporated into the country’s laws.

Mr Ghartey said some of the factors that inhibited access to justice for a section of the public include lack of knowledge or means to access the formal judicial services, the inability to enforce their claims as well as the societal and other social impediments in the attempt to assert their rights.

He said "most of the problems inhibiting access to justice concerns the very livelihood of the people in the areas of land, inheritance, child maintenance, matrimonial property among others".

"Democratic governance needs to be responsive to the crisis of the legal system in order to enhance the current democratic dispensation" he said.

Mr Ghartey said the law should be seen as a tool for development and not for abuse of human rights and oppression, adding "access to justice is a fundamental human right that should not be undermined".

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Presidential Candidate of the NPP, who as the Attorney-General initiated the programme, said reform legislation all over Africa has been prolific but its implementation to bring about rapid change is always a problem.

He said the challenge currently facing the nation is how to blend the modern and traditional justice systems to promote the rule of law.

"Enhancing the legal system to meet the challenges of the 21st Century is a task that must be taken up by all"

He commended the German Government for the support to expand the legal system of the country, saying "this is a genuine gesture".

Dr Marius Haas, German Ambassador to Ghana, reiterated his government’s need for the people especially women and children to be protected by the law saying, "we are ready to support Ghana in her quest to provide access to justice for all".

Mr Kwame Osei Prempeh, Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, told the Times later that with these research findings "we are going to address the shortcomings in the law so that women and the vulnerable can properly access justice".