The Justice Sector Support Project has launched a Case Tracking System (CTS) for the criminal justice sector in Ghana, on Friday, 23rd October, 2020 at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel. The Legal Rights Centre (LRC) implemented the project in partnership with the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Africa Office and the Crime Check Foundation, with funding from the United States of Agency for Development (USAID).
At the launch of the CTS, Mr. Justice Dennis Dominic Adjei, who is a Justice of the Court of Appeal underscored the need for justice sector institutions to collaborate to enhance the criminal justice system in the country.
He explained that the CTS was significant because it would monitor the key stakeholders in the criminal justice system to ensure that they played their respective roles as required by the constitution.
He observed that the justice system was a chain which required key stakeholder institutions to play their respective roles without delaying the process, adding that “for instance, where the court is required to sit and does not sit, without any justifiable reason, it will affect the entire chain.”
The CTS, he said, would ensure that the key stakeholders in the justice system were monitored, while ensuring accountability.
Mr. Justice Adjei further indicated that there was the need to draft policies on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) with respect to the resolution of criminal cases.
The Deputy Director of the Democracy and Governance Office of the USAID, Mr. Emmanuel Mensah-Ackman, commended the LRC and its partners for leading civil society initiatives that sought to strengthen Ghana’s justice delivery system and improve public confidence in the justice system.
“As Ghana advances on it beyond aid vision, a strong justice sector is vital for its development and ability to sustain self-reliance”, he said.
The CTS has been designed, tested, piloted and currently being rolled-out with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). CTS is a platform which was introduced in Ghana in the year 2018 to collect, collate and harmonize statistical data for effective justice delivery among key stakeholder institutions in the country.
The key stakeholders involved are the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the Ghana Police Service, the Legal Aid Commission of Ghana, the Ghana Prison Service and the Office of the Attorney-General for the implementation.
Source: Public Affairs Unit