KOFI ANOKYE OWUSU-DARKO (BLOG2)

  INTRODUCTION The Ghanaian judicial system, akin to many worldwide, faces significant challenges, notably the backlog of cases, especially at its highest court—the Supreme Court . Recently, both the Chief Justice and the Attorney General have advocated for increasing the number of Court of Appeal and Supreme Court justices to handle the overwhelming caseload more efficiently. For instance, it was reported that the Supreme Court began the 2022/2023 legal year with 939 cases and managed to resolve only 344 by year-end , leaving a substantial number pending. This trend suggests a systemic issue that extends beyond the mere number of available justices at the appellate courts. To address the growing issue of court case backlogs, with some courts having over 600 pending cases as reported, the Judicial Service of Ghana has introduced a court shift system designed to alleviate the burden of numerous pending cases. The shift system, currently in a pilot phase, involves operating in tw...

 INTRODUCTION The proposed sale of SSNIT's (Social Security and National Insurance Trust) 60% equity in four hotels—Labadi Beach Hotel, La Palm Royal Beach Resort, Ridge Royal Hotel, and Elmina Beach Resort—to Rock City Hotel, owned by Bryan Acheampong, a politician and Minister of Food and Agriculture, has sparked considerable controversy in Ghana. This move has met significant opposition from civil society organizations and labour groups, including the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG). The sale raises complex issues related to pension scheme governance, ethics, conflict of interest, and political influence. At the heart of this controversy is the trusteeship of public pension funds and assets. Public pension funds play a crucial role in ensuring the financial security of retirees by providing a steady income during their retirement years. These funds, often managed by government agencies or public entities such a...

  INTRODUCTION Judicial resolution of disputes has been recognized as not only expensive but also adversarial in nature, often ending with a win-lose settlement that worsens already strained relationships. This underscores the need for an alternative and more appropriate dispute resolution (ADR) process that allows for faster, flexible, mutually beneficial settlements and fosters future relationships between the parties. The concept of negotiations, conciliation, mediation, and arbitration as appropriate and/or alternate dispute resolution mechanisms to the adversarial process of litigation has been legally justified in the Ghanaian legal system through various legislations such as the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act 2010 (Act 798), Labour Act 2003 (Act 651), Land Act 2010 (Act 1036), Chieftaincy Act 2008 (Act 759), Courts Act 1993 (Act 459), and the High Court (Civil Procedure) (Amendment) Rules 2020 . Unfortunately, unlike traditional law firms that are established and rec...