Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo, has introduced significant reforms aimed at improving the efficiency of Ghana’s jury system as the 2025 criminal assizes officially opened across the country.
Speaking at the opening ceremony held at the Law Complex in Accra, the Chief Justice revealed that the list of eligible jurors has been expanded to include a broader group of Ghanaians, particularly from the private sector.
“Over the years, the justice sector has been constrained by a small pool of jurors, primarily drawn from clerical staff in public service institutions, and occasionally from the education sector,” she explained.
She noted that this narrow pool had resulted in some jurors serving in multiple trials over several years, making them “almost professional jurors,” which deviated from the intention of having fresh, lay jurors with new perspectives on legal matters.
With the reforms, the Judiciary intends to include all citizens who meet the legal requirements to serve as jurors. “Jury lists have been expanded to include all citizens qualified by law, including many individuals from the private sector,” the Chief Justice confirmed.
She also referenced Section 208 of Act 30, which disqualifies anyone convicted of treason, felony, or a dishonesty-related offense from serving as a juror, unless they have been granted a free pardon. Additionally, she pointed out concerns about the insufficient annual revision of juror lists under Section 213 of Act 30, emphasizing the need for a more thorough process.
“To address these concerns, a team assisted me in proposing solutions and reforms to make our jury system more efficient and result-oriented,” the Chief Justice noted. She added that the team held media and stakeholder consultations to ensure broad support for the proposed changes.
As part of the reforms, the Chief Justice has directed presiding judges and registrars of high courts to ensure that jurors are not listed in multiple courts simultaneously, to prevent them from being involved in cases in more than one court.
In her efforts to streamline the trial process, she also instructed that trials be conducted continuously from day to day, allowing courts to resolve one case from start to finish before moving on to the next.
Expressing confidence in the impact of these changes, the Chief Justice stated, “The time for change has come, and starting with today’s opening of the criminal session, trials on indictments will be conducted in all regions of Ghana. This will lead to a more efficient use of jurors’ time and faster delivery of justice.”
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