A Justice of the Court of Appeal, Efia Serwah Asare-Botwe, has indicated that the Justice-for-All programme could eventually be discontinued if current adjudication reforms and court efficiency measures are sustained.
She made the remarks at the Sekondi Central Prison, where she led sittings under the Justice-for-All programme that resulted in the acquittal of two accused persons, the granting of bail to two applicants, and the referral of three others for psychiatric evaluation after 12 sessions.
Speaking to the media, she said ongoing reforms within the justice system, including training and procedural improvements, were gradually addressing the challenges that necessitated the programme.
“We have had a lot of training for judges, prosecutors, etc., making sure that once a person is put before the court, we will deal with the matters quickly. We have done a lot of law reform, training and plea bargaining. Previously it was NGOs that were helping us and facilitating these things but now, we have only public service institutions dealing with this matters.
“Very soon Justice-for-All should be a thing of the past if we work the way we should and deal with the cases we should. But until then, we will do Justice-for-All till the whole system works,” she said.
The Justice-for-All programme was introduced to help decongest prisons by reviewing the cases of inmates on remand and ensuring faster access to justice.
