A Former Chief of Staff, Nana Ato Dadzie, has endorsed the reintroduction of Public Tribunals, describing it as a sensible way to broaden public participation in justice delivery.
He said involving ordinary citizens in the administration of justice would complement the formal courts and reflect long-established community-based dispute resolution mechanisms.
"I'm not surprised that new legislation seeks to reintroduce the Public Tribunal system. I think it makes a lot of sense to have the public involved in the administration of justice," he said at a forum in Accra last Wednesday.
Forum
Dubbed "Time with the Politician," the third edition of the interactive forum was organised by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Ghana and the Department of Political Science at the University of Ghana (UG).
The forum, which centred on diverse issues ranging from public leadership and development, among other things, formed part of efforts to create a platform for students of political science to interact with experienced political leaders.
Clarity
Nana Dadzie, a lawyer who served under the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), explained that the former Public Tribunals applied the same laws as the conventional courts but differed in their inclusion of non-lawyers in the adjudication process.
He questioned the notion that only legal professionals should administer justice, arguing that many disputes in Ghana were already resolved outside the formal judicial system by family heads and traditional authorities.
He said the country's justice system should recognise and build on those existing structures.
Nana Dadzie said shortcomings associated with the previous Public Tribunal system should be addressed through reforms rather than abandoning the concept altogether.
Presidential term
The former Chief of Staff also welcomed the extension of the presidential term from four years to five years, arguing that governments needed more time to implement their programmes effectively.
He said the current four-year term was too short for any government to achieve meaningful national development, given the time it took to set up an administration.
"You need at least six months to form a government," he said.
Chiefs
He also called for a greater role for traditional authorities in maintaining law and order, particularly in the fight against illegal mining, saying chiefs and landowners were better placed than security personnel to detect and prevent unlawful activities within their communities.
"The administration of justice should be spread out. We shouldn't exclude them," he said.
For her part, the Country Representative of KAS Ghana, Anna Lena Sabroso-Wasserfall, urged the students to take advantage of the interaction by asking meaningful questions and learning from experienced political leaders.
She said the initiative was intended to expose students to practical political leadership experiences beyond the classroom and inspire the next generation of public servants.
