Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo has called on the government to improve and build more facilities across the country to enhance justice delivery.
Speaking at a ceremony to commission The Law House in Accra on Monday, June 10, the Chief Justice said building courts are essential but not enough to improve access to justice delivery and urged the government to dedicate resources toward other projects including legal education reforms, among others to enhance the delivery of justice.
She called for deliberate measures to meet the several needs of legal professionals.
“Access to justice goes beyond providing courts. Access to justice includes facilities for legal education, law reporting, facilities for law reforms, facilities for legal aid services and well-resourced professionals along the justice delivery chain.
“We are still left with providing fitting locations for the several needs of professionals in the justice delivery chain and I am hoping that sooner than later, we will be having another beautiful edifice close by to house the Council for Law Reporting, Legal Aid Commission, the Legal Service Board and all the agencies that feed into providing justice to this dear nation of ours.”
The Law House project began in 2001 and was expected to be completed in May 2004 but it was terminated and re-awarded on January 10, 2023 and completed in June 2024.
It spanned the tenure of four presidents from John Adjekum Kufour through John Evans Atta-Mills, John Dramani Mahama, and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The project was planned to be an 8-story office but was later revised to a 10-story structure with a two-level basement with conference rooms, 130 office spaces, 120 parking lots, eating area and other facilities