Attorney General Godfred Dame has told the Supreme Court that it has to start dismissing, in chambers, all frivolous cases while giving attention to only important cases as part of measures to reduce the caseload. “The time has come for the Supreme Court to reduce its caseload by prioritising the kinds of cases it actually hears”, Mr Dame suggested and proposed that cases without merit not be called at all in open court but dismissed in chambers. The Minister of Justice was speaking at the opening of this year’s Bench, Bar, and Faculty Conference in Accra on Thursday. In his view, “only important cases with the potential of resulting in a change of the law or with an immense public interest, should be heard by the Supreme Court.” He proposed that the rules of the court be revised to make room for his suggestion so as to make the courts more productive and effective. Mr Dame also suggested that some innovations made to the court system as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic be made permanent features of the judicial process. “Virtual hearing of cases should become a regular feature of our court system”, he said. —Classfm
Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah (M), Attorney General Godfred Dame (2nd from right) with Prof Raymond Atuguba (Far right) and others
