An insurance analyst and practitioner, Edgar Wiredu, has proposed the creation of regional Supreme Courts across Ghana, arguing that the country does not need to place a cap on the number of Supreme Court judges.
According to him, the push to limit the number of justices on the Supreme court is largely driven by concerns around politically sensitive cases, rather than the need to improve access to justice for ordinary citizens.
His comments come in the wake of recommendations by the Constitution Review Committee (CRC), which has proposed placing an upper limit on the number of Supreme Court judges.
The committee explained that a fixed number would preserve flexibility in judicial appointments while preventing the court from becoming excessively large and inefficient.
Speaking on Metro TV and monitored by NewsDesksGH on December 30, Edgar Wiredu however rejected the proposal, insisting that capping the Supreme Court would not address the challenges within the justice delivery system.
“I don’t agree to that. I don’t see why you should cap it. It is all because of these political cases, that is why we think we should cap the Supreme Court. We don’t need to cap the Supreme Court,” he said.
Mr. Wiredu instead suggested a decentralised Supreme Court system, where the country would be divided into judicial sectors to reduce the burden on litigants, particularly those outside Accra.
“What is wrong if we draw some lines in Ghana and say we have the Northern belt, we have the middle belt and then the central belt,” he asked.
He questioned why people from far parts of the country are compelled to travel long distances to Accra to seek justice at the Supreme Court level.
“Why should somebody run from Sandema to Accra to the Supreme Court. Can’t we create a Supreme Court for the northern sector, can’t we create some for the middle sector and then the southern sector,” Wiredu said.
“Why should you cap it at fifteen judges. If you want to insulate the politics, let’s give the political side to some people, let them deal with it, and let the ordinary man in the street receive justice,” he stated.
Edgar Wiredu maintained that a centralised Supreme Court structure unfairly disadvantages citizens in distant regions, adding that the current system places unnecessary financial and logistical burdens on litigants.
“We cannot have 15 judges in the Supreme Court, and you expect that somebody from Sandema, because he’s got a case, he should travel all the way to Accra.”
