Ghanas Experience in Enhancing Justice and Security

Fiifi Edu-Afful

Introduction Ghanas bourgeoning democracy is premised on the 1992 Fourth Republican Constitution that highlights the strength of the institutions of state and provides means by which such institutions can operate to ensure the security of the state, the rule of law and development. The respect of the rule of law is modeled on the separation of powers between the three key arms of government, namely: the executive, judiciary and the legislature. Together, there are checks and balances to moderate their efficiency and effectiveness. Historically, the justice and security system has seen some marked improvement from periods of militarism (1966, 1972, 1979 and 1981) and political insecurity, and the return to fairly robust democratic rule in 1992. From a period of inaccessible courts, long delays in hearing cases, alien procedures, lack of legal aid for the poor, corruption1, overcrowded prisons and police brutalities, Ghanas justice and security system has seen many reforms that have moved these institutions from a moribund state into a stage where public justice and security system have become efficient especially at the local levels.2 Civil Society groups and constitutionally mandated oversight institutions have played varied roles in promoting these reforms.3 The search for alternatives in providing optimal performance on the justice and security front has resulted in the revival of age long customary/traditional forms of dispute settlement as well as various forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms ranging from court-attached ADR provided by lawyers, to state support for paralegals, as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other state agencies providing dispute settlement services.4 In the light of the lacuna, this presentation recounts the Ghanaian experience in the justice and security system from the period of the coming
1 2

Corruption among Police, Court officials including Judges and Magistrate Cook, R., K. Asante and V. Brobbey (2011) Popular Concepts of Justice and Fairness in Ghana: Testing the Legitimacy of New or Hybrid Forms of State Justice. http://www.idlo.int/DOCCalendar/DIIS_Book.pdf Accessed on 26 March 2012 3 Open Society Initiative for West Africa (2007).Ghana: Justice Sector and the Rule of Law. A discussion paper. Open Society Initiative for West Africa 4 Smith, T. (2007) Judicial Reforms and its impact on the Administration of justice: case study focused on court reforms in Accra. CUSO

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into force of the 1992 constitution. This presentation would highlight the justice and security system as we have it in Ghana, by evaluating the positives and negatives to the access to justice programme, ADR and analyse the institutional capability and effectiveness of the whole institution of justice and security in Ghana. Also, this presentation would evaluate the role of state and non state actors in the provision of justice and security in Ghana as well as the Gender Mainstreaming in the justice and security sector. Lastly, the presentation would look at the challenges that confront the justice and security sectors in the pursuance of the duties and how Ghana has been trying to deal with these challenges through reforms.

Brief Background on Ghana Ghana is a sub-Saharan African English-speaking country surrounded by francophone nations; Burkina Faso on the north, Togo on the east, La Cote dIvoire on the west and the Atlantic Ocean on the south. With a population of about 24 million (as of 2010), Ghana has a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 26.2 Billion USD and GDP per capita of 1,098 USD.5 Ghana has ten (10) administrative regions, 170 districts and 230 electoral constituencies. The structure of the Ghanaian state is outlined in the 1992 constitution. The constitution separates the state into three branches namely the executive, legislature and judiciary. It further highlights the boundaries of the powers as well as limitations to the execution of their duties.

Justice and the security sector in Ghana Ghanas Justice and Security landscape comprise the following institutions: Ghana Armed Forces (the Army, Navy and Air Force); Ghana Police Service (GPS); *Commercial Crime and Property Crime Units 6 Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and Customs, Excise & Preventive Service (CEPS); Intelligence Organizations: The Bureau for National Investigation (BNI);
5

World Bank (2011). World Development Indicators. New York: Oxford University press Emphasis

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Economic and Organized Crime office (EOCO) Military Intelligence and the Research Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; The penal system: the Prisons Service and Judiciary; The Executive, including the national Security Council and respective ministries; Parliament and its committees; Civil society, including the media and non-governmental organizations (NGOs); Private security companies; and Judicial Committees of Traditional Councils and House of chiefs, as well as community groups and vigilantes.

The government departments and public servants with responsibilities in the justice sector are:

the Ministry of Justice and A-Gs Department; the Ghana Police Service; the Ghana Prisons Service; the Social Welfare Department, and Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) The Judicial Service (judges and other court staff). Ministry of Justice and Attorney Generals Department plays a

The

coordinating role, though the police and prisons services fall under the Ministry of the Interior. The Social Welfare Department has its own ministry. The segmented approach in which these institutions are structured contributes to a weak level of harmonization, collaboration and communication among the various interest groups within the justice system in Ghana.7 For example the police always points to the courts as being the source of their problems. They complain about judges freeing suspects for want of prosecution even when they have some evidence that could elicit prosecution. The argument is that suspects more often than not exploit legal technicalities to free themselves from police prosecution and the police sometimes believe these suspects are helped by the courts to escape prosecution.
7

Op. cit.

Open Society Initiative for West Africa (2007)

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The Judiciary as of 2012 consists of The Superior Courts of Judicature comprising The Supreme Court; The Court of Appeal; The High Court Fast Track Division (fully automated) Commercial Division Land Division Economic Crimes (financial)Division Human Rights Division Industrial (labour) Divisions8 Regional Tribunals Circuit Courts Gender Based Violence Court (Domestic Violence Court) District Court (Makes up the largest number of courts in the country) Juvenile Courts Family Tribunal Motor Courts Ghana has passed legislation to establish independence for its judicial sector and instituted practical improvements in the administration of justice. Since 2000, there have been several reform initiatives, under the umbrella of judicial reform and modernization. These reforms have stimulated the promotion of greater access to information about the courts. Civil society and oversight institutions have played an important role in promoting these reforms. However, weaknesses in the constitutional and legislative framework still exist. Amongst the highest profile innovations has been the introduction of fast-track automated courts, and the creation of a new Commercial Division of the High Court, with innovative procedures aimed at reducing delays in the administration of justice. These innovations have helped to accelerate cases for litigants. One important reform has been the introduction of pre-trial settlement conferencing in the commercial courts.9 This has greatly reduced

All these divisions are specialized divisions of the high court like the Fast Track and Commercial Courts. 9 Op. cit. Smith(2007)

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ligations that are basically commercial in nature.10The District courts are the lowest-level courts of first instance applying formal state law, which in Ghana includes customary law. District courts have become more informal and flexible in their procedures. Further, these courts have also become venues for the national Court-connected ADR programme, using paid paralegal mediators. Another institution of importance in the administration of justice in Ghana is the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). CHRAJ is a constitutionally-mandated quasi-judicial body established under the 1992 Constitution, and its autonomy and independence are constitutionally guaranteed. Its principal mandate is to investigate abuses of power and maladministration, whether by the Government or other agencies, which infringe on citizens human rights as guaranteed by the Constitution.11 This includes unfair treatment of citizens by public agencies, corruption of public officials, and unequal recruitment practices. CHRAJ has a wider network of District Offices in most of Ghanas 170 districts.12 These District Offices offer a free mediation or ADR service to complainants.
13

The services of CHRAJ has

attracted increasing numbers of individual citizens seeking resolution of disputes, ranging from family disputes (custody of children, maintenance of spouses and divorcees) inheritance, land and property cases, to landlordtenant relations and employer-employee cases. CHRAJ has received 162,794 complaints within the last six years and was able to solve about 80 per cent of the cases through arbitration.14

The Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO)

10 11

Judicial Service of Ghana (2011) Annual Report for 2010/2011. Judicial Service of Ghana Op. cit. Crook et al (2011) 12 Ms Laureta Vivian Lamptey, Commissioner of CHRAJ, December 9, 2011. Statement to mark World Day against Human Rights. 13 ibid. 14 ibid.

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EOCO is a specialized multi-disciplinary Public Service that exists to reinforce public accountability in the utilization and management of financial and economic resources so that maximum benefits are realized for the people of Ghana through:
1.

The conduct of regular reliability checks of management practices applied by public institutions. Effective economic crime prevention and public awareness programmes. Investigation and prosecution of offenders without fear or favour.

2. 3.

The Role of Justice and Security providers in Ghana The roles and functions of state security actors and justice providers are clearly spelt out in the 1992 constitution.

State security actors include Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Law enforcement agencies, intelligence and security agencies, border/customs services.

State justice providers include courts, state prosecution services, correction services, vibrant bar association, victims support groups (DOVVSU

Non-state security Providers include private security companies, self defense groups (Neighborhood watch dog committees) Non state justice providers include defense lawyers, legal aid, victims support groups, Traditional authorities.

Access to Justice Programme Citizen participation in justice administration in Ghana is crucial in building trust and expectation and wining public respect in the judiciary system. Access to justice is an essential principle upon which the tenets of good governance reside. Access to Justice has many components. However, for the purpose of this presentation, I will focus on three key components in relation
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to Ghana. The first component has to do with access to government or civil society sponsored legal aid services. These include access to information about legal rights and responsibilities, legal counselling, legal advice, legal representation and other legal advocacy services.15 The second component is physical access to structures/mechanisms where people can take their problems as they pursue justice. The third component includes application of constitutional provisions on human rights and legislation in order to do justice for all manner of persons irrespective of their social, political, economic or cultural standing.16

Alternative Disputes Resolution (ADR) Programme The need for a fast and efficient mechanism for adjudication of cases pending in the courts resulted in the introduction of ADR into the court adjudication process. Theoretically, the purpose of this ADR programme is to tackle the enormous backlog of pending cases in the state system and improve accessibility for the poor and vulnerable. Through the use of mediation, the ADR programme has been found to be faster, cheaper, a channel that offers the opportunity to restore strained interpersonal relationships between parties in dispute and provide for a win-win outcome after dispute resolution. Empirically, it is established that trained mediators involved in the ADR programme also undertake Disputes Resolution activities in their communities across the Country. country. Also, this programme has provided for the general public, especially individual disputants who are unable to afford the expensive courts and attorneys fees and charges, an improved access to justice in the various participating
15

The programme has resulted in the

improvement in numbers of peacemakers and peacebuilders within the

See http://www.wildaf.org/index.php/whatwedo/access-to-justice. Accessed on 30 March 2012 16 Ibid.

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communities. Available data shows an average settlement rate of 47% in 2008 of cases mediated in Lower courts.17 The ADR Programme aims at reaching a lot more vulnerable and poor persons in especially low income communities since majority (about 90%) of total number of cases filed in the Judicial Service through Courts all over the country are filed through the lower courts (District and Circuit Courts).18 The ADR programme has gained some reputation and acceptance among user groups and stakeholders and continues to be a preferred choice of dispute resolution for some disputants. The operation of the ADR Programme is such that cases suitable for mediation are referred to ADR process by the Judge or Magistrate of the court.19 Parties or disputants are assisted to select their own mediator from a list of mediators assigned to the court. A date is agreed for the mediation session after which an agreement signed by both parties is adopted by the Court as Consent Judgment if the case is resolved successfully. When a case is not resolved at mediation, it is referred back to court by the mediator for continued trial.20 Types of cases that are normally handled through mediation process of the ADR system include civil cases and minor criminal cases that are not felonies or aggravated in degree.21 Examples of such cases include Monetary Claims Recovery, Minor Assault, Maintenance, Offensive Conduct, Landlord/Tenant, Defamation, and Threat of harm or damage to property. Currently, the Programme is operational in 41 District Courts across the Country. In Accra alone a total of 2,576 cases were 1,272 cases were successfully resolved, mediated in 2007 and 2008. mediated over the period.22

representing a success rate of approximately 50% of total number of cases

17 18 19 20 21 22

Judicial Service of Ghana (2011). 2010/2011 Annual Report. Judicial Service of Ghana Ibid. Op. cit. Smith(2007) Ibid. Ibid. Judicial Service of Ghana (2011). 2010/2011 Annual Report. Judicial Service of Ghana

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Legal Aid in Ghana The inclusion of the poor and vulnerable in the formal justice delivery system is essential in building confidence for national security, cohesion and development. The legal aid scheme as it is practiced in Ghana is expected to defend the rights of the low, poor, indigene and vulnerable in society, against infractions by the rich and powerful. The Ghana Legal Aid Scheme has in 2010 resolved 1,952 cases out of 2,671 disputes and complaints filed at the Community Mediation Centres set-up under its Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) programme.23 Despite the challenges that the Scheme faces over the years, the scheme has been able to handle 6,959 cases in 2007; 6,212 in 2008; 6,612 in 2009, and 7,293 in 2010 to reduce the work load of cases in the traditional courts.24

Justice for All Programme (JFA) This programme was initiated by the judiciary to reduce the congestions in prisons facilities across Ghana by freeing remand prisoners who have been behind bars for 5 or more years. In 2010 and 2011, eighty-two (82) and 113 cases were handled respectively under the JFA programme. Out of this number 56 and 63 individuals were discharged, 32 were granted bail, and the rest were either acquitted and discharged or convicted.25

Institutional Capacity/Effectiveness The Ghana Police Service (GPS)

23 24 25

Mr. Al-Hassan Yahaya Seini, the Director of Legal Aid Scheme Ibid. Judicial Service of Ghana (2011). 2010/2011 Annual Report. Judicial Service of Ghana

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The GPS is divided into twelve (12) administrative regions namely: Accra, Tema, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Eastern, Volta, Western, Central, Northern, Upper East, Upper West and Railways, Ports and Harbour Regions. In these regions, there are;

51 Police Divisions, Commanded by Divisional Commanders, 179 Police Districts Commanded by District Commanders, and 651 Police Stations and posts supervised by Station Officers.26

The Service has manpower strength of a little over twenty-three thousand 23,000 personnel with police civilian ratio of about 1:1200.27 The role of the police in the justice and security sector is clearly spelt out in the 1992 constitution. The GPS is tasked to deliver services in crime prevention, detection, apprehension and prosecution of offenders, consistent with the expectations of Ghanaian stakeholders for maximum protection, safe, secure and peaceful communities.

Community Policing Concept and Unit A Community Policing Unit has been in operation since 2006 as part of the police reforms to improve their services to be a world class, democratic Service, committed to building partnerships and community engagement in its operations. The unit experimental focus has been on selected areas of the Greater Accra region. The Units approach is mainly four pronged, namely 1. Combined sensitization, outreach and Anti-crime Educational talks 2. Formation of Neighbourhood Watch Committees
3. The employment of Community Protection Assistants (CPAs) under the

National Youth Employment Scheme, and

26 27

See http://www.ghanapolice.info/broad_formation.htm Accessed on 28 March 2012 ibid

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4. The use of Police Bicycle Patrols, among other means of reaching out.28

This community policing concept has greatly helped to reduce crime in certain parts of the capital (Accra) especially and there are plans to introduce it to other parts of the country.

The Ghana Prisons Service The Ghana prisons service is an essential component of the penal system in Ghana. The Service is decentralized into four main divisions namely: general administration, prisons establishments, prison officers training school and Ghana borstal institute.29 The service has a total of 42 prisons establishment all over the country with staff strength of 4686 and a prison population of about 14130 with prison officer inmate ratio of about 1:3.30 The role of the prisons service in the justice and security sector is to ensure the safe custody and welfare of inmates while providing opportunity for their reformation and rehabilitation before they are discharged.

Judicial Service In total there are about 316 courtrooms throughout the 10 administrative regions in the country.31 These courts are made up of superior courts and lower courts. The break down of judges and magistrate that are in charge of these courts are 13 Justices of the supreme courts, 23 justices of the court of appeal, 92 justices of the high court, 59 circuit court judges, 30 district magistrates (professional) and 111 career magistrate.s
28

32

For an incisive paper on police reforms see Ghana police service strategic development plan http://www.ghanapolice.info/plan.pdf Accessed on 1 April 2012 29 See http://www.ict.gov.gh/pdf/ICT%20GUIDELINE--prisons%20service.pdf Accessed on 28 March 2012 30 See KAIPTC (2011). The state of women, peace and security in Africa: the case of Liberia Guinea-Bissau, Ghana and La Cote dIvore. Women Peace and Security Institute. 31 Judicial Service of Ghana (2011). 2010/2011 Annual Report. Judicial Service of Ghana 32 Ibid.

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Gender Mainstreaming in the Justice and Security Ghanas justice and security institutions are dominated by men as Table 1 and 2 below outlines. Ghana Prisons and Immigration services have a lower disparity in terms of sex ratio. The ratio of males to females in the Ghana Prisons and Immigration services is 1 female to 3 males while that of the police and the customs have a higher disparity of 1 female to 4 males. Over the years, conscious efforts have been made to recruit more women into these institutions; rewards have also been established to promote deserving female officers and officials into higher positions on merit.

Figure: 1 Women in security institutions in Ghana

Source: See KAIPTC (2011). The state of women, peace and security in Africa: the case of Liberia Guinea-Bissau, Ghana and La Cote dIvore. Women Peace and Security Institute

Despite the many challenges facing female justices in Ghana the argument has been the fact that more and more women judges can help remove barriers
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to womens economic participation, such as laws that restrict womens property rights as well as eliminating the phenomenon of sexual and genderbased violence. Currently, only around 20 percent of judges in Ghanas courts are women.33

Figure: 2 Women in the Judiciary in Ghana

Source: Judicial Service of Ghana 2010/2011 Annual Report

Challenges hindering the enhancing of justice and security in Ghana The main challenges and outstanding issues in Ghanas justice and security system are as follows:
33

Ghana has ratified international human rights and rule of law treaties. The Constitution guarantees civil/political rights. Nevertheless,

Anna Louie Sussman (2011) Challenges facing female justices in Ghana. http://www.judicial.gov.gh/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=285&Itemid=148 Accessed on 30 March 2012

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international treaties are not routinely incorporated into national laws and judges are not trained to apply international law principles.

Many administrative reforms have not been enacted into law. Despite the fact that the Constitution specifies the separation of powers and checks and balances, the Attorney General is also the Minister of Justice and is appointed by the ruling government. Whilst the government generally obeys the laws of the land, there is a perception of executive influence.

Coordination and cooperation between judicial levels is weak and long court delays still persist. There is a geographical imbalance in court distribution and a perception of judicial corruption. While some prison construction has occurred, sentencing and prison management laws are out of date and overcrowded, inadequate prison conditions prevail.

Crime data collection has improved. Mechanisms exist to check police behaviour and complaints about the police have decreased. However allegations of police abuse and corruption still persist.

Within the police service, there are cases of evidence tampering, disappearance of crime exhibits, substitution of criminals with innocent persons and pervasive corruption. E.g. Cocaine turned baking soda (2011)and Cocaine turned into powdered cassava kokonte (2007)cases

The problems of the Ghana Police Service as enumerated by successive IGPs includes shortage of manpower, use of outdated weapons, lack of adequate and modern telecommunication equipment, lack of vehicles, shortage of funds for operation, poor training, ill-oriented, ill-motivated, corruption among the rank and file, poor accommodation, political interference and poor recruitment practices.

In the case of the Prisons service, the main challenge that confronts the service is a persistent lack of funds. One effect of this is that the service is unable to ensure that convicts do not reoffend.
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Other challenges that face the service include prison overcrowding, lack of sanitation, and poor prison infrastructure

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