Commission study on access to justice – Prof. Oppong to GBA, GLC, Attorney-General
Professor Richard Frimpong Oppong, a law professor at the Califonia Western School of Law and a fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, said the study should examine the use of digital technology to enhance access to justice.
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The Ghana Bar Association (GBA), the General Legal Council (GLC), and the Minister for Justice have been urged to jointly work to facilitate a study on access to justice in Ghana.
Professor Richard Frimpong Oppong, a law professor at the Califonia Western School of Law and a fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, said the study should examine the use of digital technology to enhance access to justice.
“To realise the benefits of this wider vision of access to justice, the message of this lecture has been a simple one: the Ghana legal system should embrace digital technologies that can help it provide better justice to Ghanaians,” he argued.
He was speaking on the first day of the 2022 JB Danquah memorial lecture series on the theme, ‘Digitalisation and the Future of the Ghana Legal System’, held at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences in Accra.
He said just like the banking sector did with financial inclusion, similar achievements could be made in the legal environment regarding access to justice.
“In Ghana, many people have been able to participate in the financial system through mobile electronic wallets, which store money and enable electronic money transfers. This lecture calls us to reflect on whether something similar could be achieved regarding access to justice,” he said.
He further recommended that the commission should also consider the prospect of adopting an interest in Lawyers Trust Account Schemes to fund access to justice initiatives in Ghana.
Access to justice challenges in Ghana has largely dwelled on informational barriers, financial barriers, and physical barriers.
