The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has opposed the reintroduction of public tribunals as a means of addressing the growing congestion in Ghana’s courts, arguing that the country’s judicial challenges should instead be resolved through reforms that strengthen the existing court system.
Speaking during a national address on Sunday, July 19, following the passage of the Tribunals Bill by Parliament, Bawumia appealed to President John Dramani Mahama not to give presidential assent to the legislation.
He urged the president to carefully consider Ghana’s past experience with public tribunals before allowing the bill to become law.
According to Bawumia, while there is broad agreement that Ghana’s courts face significant challenges, including case backlogs and delays in the administration of justice, creating an alternative system of justice is not the appropriate solution.
He maintained that reforms should focus on improving the efficiency, capacity and accessibility of the existing judicial system rather than establishing parallel structures that could generate public concern.
“Reflect on the historical antecedents of the public tribunals system. Under this bill, panels that include persons who are not lawyers may sit in judgement over criminal matters. Ghanaians remember tribunals and we remember what was done in their names.
“Our courts are congested but the answer to congested courts is to strengthen the courts, more judges, more courtrooms and digitised processes. It is not to build a second system of justice.”
