The Member of Parliament for Suame, John Darko, says government has completely failed to justify the need for the newly passed Tribunals Bill, arguing that every reason advanced for re‑establishing lower tribunals can be solved within Ghana’s existing judicial architecture.

Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV, Mr. Darko said the Minority scrutinised the memorandum accompanying the bill and found no compelling case for creating an entirely new layer of courts.

According to him, claims that tribunals will clear case backlogs, speed up justice delivery and enhance public participation fall flat because none of these objectives require a new judicial structure.

“One of the things they stated was that the tribunal system was going to clear the backlog of cases at our various courts… They also stated that the tribunals will handle some criminal cases and galamsey. We thought through it, reading the memorandum, we saw that they hadn’t made a case for the establishment of the courts,” he said.

Mr. Darko argued that if government is genuinely committed to reducing delays, it can simply expand existing courts, appoint more judges and introduce efficiency‑boosting reforms. He noted that courts already have the power to sit day‑to‑day, and suggested afternoon sittings, additional courtrooms and technology‑driven processes as practical ways to reduce backlogs.

“If we are truly minded to get our courts to sit day by day and finish cases early, we can do that. There is nothing in our current structure that prevents a court from adjourning a case to the next day,” he stressed.

He further maintained that boosting public participation does not require tribunals, arguing instead for an expanded jury system covering more criminal and civil matters.

The Suame MP also questioned the constitutional basis of the bill, insisting that existing lower courts already perform the functions the proposed tribunals are expected to undertake. In his view, government has failed to identify any deficiency in the current system that warrants the creation of new tribunals.

“The government has not convinced us, me as a Ghanaian, that we really need the tribunals. Because there is nothing they have shown us which is broken in the current system for which this one is going to fix. And as the Americans say, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” he said.

Parliament has passed the Tribunals Bill to re‑establish lower tribunals as part of Ghana’s judicial system. Government maintains the measure will improve access to justice, expedite selected criminal trials — including illegal mining cases — and ease pressure on the courts. The bill now awaits presidential assent.

— CitiNewsRoom