GG/HRP STEERING COMMITTEE CALLS ON CHIEF JUSTICE

A delegation of the Steering Committee for the Danish Good Governance & Human Rights Programme (GG/HRP) has briefed Chief Justice Wood on the progress and challenges of the GG/HRP and sought her personal support for the smooth implementation of the programme. The delegation also used the occasion to congratulate her on her appointment as the first female Chief Justice of Ghana.

Led by the chairman, Justice F. Kusi-Appiah, the delegation explained that under the GG/HRP, the Royal Danish Embassy in Accra has undertaken to support the Ghana Judicial Service towards increasing access to justice by the poor and vulnerable under the theme “Reforming the Magistrate Courts in Ghana to Improve Access to Justice.” This falls under the sub-component 3.4 of the GG/HRP and has the immediate objective of “enhanced access to justice through increased effectiveness of the judiciary.”

Justice Kusi enumerated the following as the specific objectives of the support to the Judiciary under the programme:

• To promote access to justice by the poor and vulnerable;
• To expand the Magistrate Court Reform Programme to 10 additional courts in Ghana;
• To design a framework for the integration of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) into the mainstream dispute resolution processes of the Magistrate Courts;
• To train and build capacity within the Judicial Service for the modernization of the District Courts.

In response, Chief Justice Wood thanked the Committee and promised her support to its work. She entreated the Committee to discharge its responsibilities with diligence to ensure that donor funds are judiciously applied to obtain value for money.

Other members of the delegation were Mrs. Sandra Cofie, Director of Judicial Reform Project Development Implementation Unit (JR/PDIU); Mr. Kwesi Ainuson, National Co-ordinator of the Judicial Service Projects and Programmes; Mr. Abraham Attabra, Accountant, JR/PDIU; and Mr. J.R. Ampong-Fosu, who is designated to take over the co-ordination of the programme after the expiration of the current Co-ordinator’s contract.

On 15th February 2007, the Judicial Service signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Royal Danish Embassy, Accra, for the implementation of the GG/HRP. Prior to that, the embassy requested the Judicial Service to set up a Steering Committee as part of the pre-conditions for the support to the Judicial Service to:

• Guide the usage of DANIDA funds to the Service;
• Monitor the progress of the Danish support to the Judicial Service, and
• Make recommendations on strategic management support to the Judicial Service.

The full membership of the Steering Committee is as follows:

Name Designation Status on Committee
Justice F. Kusi-Appiah Appeals Court Judge Chairman
Sandra Cofie (Mrs.) Director, JR/PDIU Member
Her Honour Jennifer Dodoo (Mrs.) Judge, Circuit Court 4, 28th February Road Cluster of Courts, Accra Member
Mr. Kwesi Ainuson National Co-ordinator, Projects and Programs, Judicial Service Member
His Worship Yaw Twumasi-Ankrah Magistrate, District Court, Dodowa Member
Mr. Abraham Attabra Accountant, JR/PDIU Member
Katja F. Rosenstock Programme Co-ordinator, Royal Danish Embassy, Accra Member
Mr. Abdulkarim Mohammed GG/HRP Co-ordinator (Consultant) Secretary