Supreme Court nominee Justice Hafisata Amaleboba has raised concerns about the significant challenges facing Ghana’s justice system, citing manpower shortages, lengthy procedures, and case backlogs as major obstacles to timely justice delivery.
During her vetting by Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Wednesday, Justice Amaleboba revealed that some courts have only one judge handling up to 300 cases at a time. She explained that such overwhelming workloads delay justice, calling for urgent reforms to expedite case management.
“Long procedures and the absence of timelines for cases are major hindrances to speedy justice delivery,” she emphasized.
Addressing the suggestion to cap the number of Supreme Court judges, Justice Amaleboba expressed her support for the idea but stressed the need to tackle case backlogs and introduce systems that allocate a specific number of cases per judge annually.
On family law, Justice Amaleboba shared her experience at the Appeal Court, affirming the principle of equality in marital property distribution. She recounted a case where a wife with significant assets had to share her property with her husband, emphasizing that the law is gender-neutral.
“When it comes to distribution of marital property, it is not based on gender, even though it may seem so,” she noted.
Commenting on bail conditions, Justice Amaleboba reassured that all offences are now bailable and encouraged suspects struggling with stringent bail terms to seek variations in court.
Her insights have sparked discussions about the urgent need for systemic reforms in Ghana’s judiciary, particularly in addressing case backlogs, enhancing manpower, and improving procedural efficiency to ensure justice is both timely and equitable.
