The Member of Parliament for Suame, John Darko, says the government should focus on using technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), to make Ghana’s courts work faster instead of creating new tribunals.
According to him, the delays in the justice system are not because Ghana lacks tribunals.
He believes the real problem is inefficiency, which can be solved by improving the current court system with technology and reforms.
In an interview, Mr. Darko said modern technology can help speed up court processes and make the justice system more efficient.
He suggested measures such as digital case management, online court hearings and other technology-based solutions to improve how cases are handled.
“These days and age, you can also even introduce technology and that is what Kufuor did,” he said, referring to judicial automation reforms introduced under the former New Patriotic Party administration.
Mr. Darko explained that former President John Agyekum Kufuor did not create new courts but instead modernised the existing High Court system by replacing manual processes with automated ones.
“What Kufuor did was just automation of the current High Court system. Kufuor didn’t establish any court. There was a High Court, but they were using pen and paper. What he did was, no, we can’t do that. Let’s automate the court,” he stated.
He added that Ghana should now go a step further by using artificial intelligence and other modern technologies to deal with the remaining challenges in the justice system.
“If you still believe that cases are delaying in court, now we are talking about AI and all these other forms of technology. Let’s use them,” he added.
Mr. Darko also pointed to the introduction of virtual court hearings, saying they have shown that technology can help make justice more accessible and reduce delays.
“Previously, you couldn’t do a Zoom trial. Now there’s online trial. We have been experimenting them during legal vacations. You sit in your house and we do online trial. So cases are moving faster. This is the kind of reform you need,” he said.
He maintained that creating new tribunals is not the best way to reduce the backlog of cases. Instead, he believes the government should strengthen the existing court system by appointing more judges, expanding the number of courts and investing in better technology.
His comments come after Parliament passed the Tribunals Bill.
The government says the new law will help reduce delays in the justice system, improve access to justice and allow certain cases, including illegal mining offences, to be handled more quickly.
