CJ Appeals To Saboteurs Of E-Justice Project

• Posted on March 21, 2019
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo has appealed to all to do away with interference and sabotage E-Justice Project since those are the very attitudes that would kill public confidence in the judicial system.

“I will not deal kindly or lightly with any person who by any means attempts to railroad this system,” she warned.

Ms Akuffo was speaking at the launch of the $97 million project by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Law Courts Complex in Accra on Wednesday.

The E-Project is part of government’s E-Transformation programme that seeks to automate the existing manual filing system with the Registries of the courts, from the filing of cases to the execution of the courts’ decisions.

The project, wholly-sponsored by the World Bank through the Ministry of Communication, would be rolled out fully among the 44 courts housed at the Law Courts Complex in Accra.

The Judicial Service of Ghana is the implementing agency and a South African firm, Messer EOH, is the Solution provider, with an American firm, Messer Leading Associates, playing a supervisory role.

The Chief Justice noted that the E-Justice project and its desired outcome when applied would have value if the people working with it commit themselves to make it work.

Ms Akuffo stressed the need to apply process integrity and security to ensure the success of the project.

The Chief Justice said the service had learnt a lot of lessons while the E-Justice was being piloted, adding that the judiciary is now ready to roll out the project in regional capitals across the country, including Tema, by the year 2022.

According to her, the lower courts which constitute the backbone of the judicial process, would not be left out during the period.

She was optimistic that by 2025 all the courts in the country would have been connected to the project, adding that the Judicial Service was holding discussions with the World Bank in that respect.

Ms Akuffo was elated the E-Project would be able to completely exorcise the twin devil of delay and misplacement of dockets that had over the years characterized the court’s system.

 “The new system would help us to play our role as partners in development and it would also boost confidence of citizens, who will now be eager to use the court to resolve their disputes, safe in the assurance that it will not take years or be derailed by a missing docket,” the Chief Justice stressed.

Mrs Ursula Owusu Ekuful, Minister of Communications, noted that the E-Justice project marked a milestone in justice delivery in the country.

According to the Minister, digitisation of public life and the country’s economy would improve the citizens’ quality of life.

She said that the request by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court to be included in the E-Justice Project was receiving the needed attention.

Ms Cynthia Pamela A. Addo, Judicial Secretary, said the project would promote transparency and accountability in justice delivery and also

help authorized persons to file their cases at all times.

The helplines to access the E-Justice project were given as 0302-748-120,0500-100-833,0500-109-664; [email protected]