Supreme Court building, Accra
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19th March, 2010
Commercial Court Organises Symposium
The commercial court of the Judicial Service of Ghana organised a symposium for its members as part of its 5th anniversary celebration.
The theme for the occasion was “Access to commercial justice, prospects and challenges.”
Addressing the participants, the president of the Commercial Court, Justice Margaret Welbourne said the objective of the symposium was to analyse the impact of the commercial court on the administration of justice and on businesses since its establishment.
She said that the commercial court was set up to pass judgement on commercial claims which included the formation or governance of a business or commercial organisation, the export or import of goods and tax issues.
Justice Welbourne said the court had been able to provide smooth and efficient administration of justice to all manner of persons which was evident in the silver award the court received in 2007 from the President’s Private Sector Initiative Project.
“From the inception of the commercial court to date, 4,146 cases have been filed at the courts and a total of 2,581 cases have been effectively dealt with and concluded,” she stressed.
She said among the challenges the court faced, was the increase in the case load for judges and staff as a result of the lowering of the filing fees for litigants.
The solution to this problem, she said, could be increasing the threshold of the courts jurisdiction and re-adopting the filing fees structure as provided in High Court Rules, 2004.
She stressed the need to appoint more judges and staff in order to make the commercial court more responsive.
The chairman of the Management Committee and Users committee of the Commercial Court, Justice Samuel Kofi Date-Bah said the commercial court aimed at building the institutional capacity to resolve commercial and business dispute to the satisfaction of the business community, their consumers and other stakeholders.
He noted that the time taken by judicial processes had been a source of complaint not only to business people in Ghana but people from all walks of life.
He added that one of the challenges for the delivery of commercial justice in the next decade was how to replicate the success achieved in Accra to other commercial centres in Ghana.
He called on justices of the commercial court to appoint assessors to assist them in their work in order to bring the justice they delivered close to the practices and realities of the market.
He commended the justices and other staff of the court on their achievements over the years and urged the participants to support the laudable initiative of the judiciary.
The theme for the occasion was “Access to commercial justice, prospects and challenges.”
Addressing the participants, the president of the Commercial Court, Justice Margaret Welbourne said the objective of the symposium was to analyse the impact of the commercial court on the administration of justice and on businesses since its establishment.
She said that the commercial court was set up to pass judgement on commercial claims which included the formation or governance of a business or commercial organisation, the export or import of goods and tax issues.
Justice Welbourne said the court had been able to provide smooth and efficient administration of justice to all manner of persons which was evident in the silver award the court received in 2007 from the President’s Private Sector Initiative Project.
“From the inception of the commercial court to date, 4,146 cases have been filed at the courts and a total of 2,581 cases have been effectively dealt with and concluded,” she stressed.
She said among the challenges the court faced, was the increase in the case load for judges and staff as a result of the lowering of the filing fees for litigants.
The solution to this problem, she said, could be increasing the threshold of the courts jurisdiction and re-adopting the filing fees structure as provided in High Court Rules, 2004.
She stressed the need to appoint more judges and staff in order to make the commercial court more responsive.
The chairman of the Management Committee and Users committee of the Commercial Court, Justice Samuel Kofi Date-Bah said the commercial court aimed at building the institutional capacity to resolve commercial and business dispute to the satisfaction of the business community, their consumers and other stakeholders.
He noted that the time taken by judicial processes had been a source of complaint not only to business people in Ghana but people from all walks of life.
He added that one of the challenges for the delivery of commercial justice in the next decade was how to replicate the success achieved in Accra to other commercial centres in Ghana.
He called on justices of the commercial court to appoint assessors to assist them in their work in order to bring the justice they delivered close to the practices and realities of the market.
He commended the justices and other staff of the court on their achievements over the years and urged the participants to support the laudable initiative of the judiciary.
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