APPP Research to strengthen Ghana’s justice delivery system
25 Jun 2009
Accra
Participants attending the Africa Power and Politics (APPP) training for Research Assistants in Accra say the study will help address some of the problems militating against justice delivery system in the country. The participants said they were satisfied with the quality of training they were receiving from the lead researchers and were convinced that the aims of the study will be achieved.
Mrs. Ruthy Strauss-Ashiaby, a research assistant from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) said the study will give her an opportunity to contribute to the development of the justice delivery system in Ghana.
"As a student lawyer, I am happy to be part of such a project. It will bring out the true nature of our justice system, the state of our facilities, courtroom practices, the filling system, etc. I am sure the findings will compel those responsible for our justice system to make things work better," she said.
Research Assistants at the APPP workshop in Accra
She commended the leaders of the training program for their professional approach to the study particularly for not assuming that the research assistants would know what to do in the field. She said the study which combines both qualitative and quantitative research methods would be difficult but interesting.
Mr. Kojo Asante, Head of Programs at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and a lead researcher said in spite of the very exciting nature of the study, explaining the findings would be a very difficult process. "The exploratory nature of the study would make comparative analysis with other countries a hard nut to crack. The study is premised on the notion of working with the grain of African societies and you would first have to find out what works and what does not work in various countries and then situate it in their different cultural contexts before you attempt to compare. You need a good understanding of country specific contexts to be able to do this. This makes it exciting but challenging," he said.
Participants share their experiences at the workshop
The Research Assistants are being trained to observe and to interpret court proceedings in the Magistrates' Courts, traditional dispute resolution processes, sittings and procedures of various Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) bodies such as the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, and the new Customary Land Secretariat, and Land Committees set up to dispense justice expeditiously in Ghana.
The study of the Ghanaian Local Justice Administration is meant to investigate the extent to which new approaches to judicial practice and new judicial institutions, including alternatives to formal state law provide the public good of effective, accessible and legitimate dispute settlement for ordinary citizens with special reference to land rights, inheritance and property.
