Chief Justice launches LEADing Justice Initiatives with bold new reforms

The Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo on Monday launched a number of new reforms for the judiciary, which encapsulates her vision for the arm of government she heads. 

Dubbed the LEADing Justice Initiatives, the new reforms represent her vision for improved capacity of all workers within the justice delivery system and a continuous drive towards efficiency. At the unveiling ceremony yesterday, Justice Torkornoo explained that the prefix LEADing represents Law, Ethics, Access, and Digitalisation. 

As part of those reforms, the Cheif Justice said it's her vision to train over 7000 staff of the Judicial Service as well as all persons involved in justice delivery such as police investigators, mediators, valuers, surveyors, and auctioneers in paralegal studies.

Additionally, she noted that as part of her vision to promote ethical behaviour by Judicial service staff and judges, nine new Practice Directions and Administrative Guidelines had been developed.

The new Practice Directions and Administrative Guidelines include:

• Practice Directions on Award of Costs 2024,
• Practice Directions for the Determination of Applications for Injunctions to Restrain Burial of a Deceased Person 2024,
• Practice Directions on Commercial Pre-Trial Settlement (Under High Court Civil Procedure Amendment Rules 2020 C. I 133) 2024,
• Practice Directions on Plea Bargaining
• Practice Directions on Court Connected ADR  (Under High Court Civil Procedure Amendment Rules 2020 C. I 133) 2024,
• Administrative Guidelines on Using Supreme Court Registry,
• Administrative Directions to Aid Expeditious Disposal of Trial by Jury 2024,
• Administrative Guidelines on Generation of Suit Numbers 2024,
• Administrative Guidelines on Courtroom Proceedings 2024, 

Attorney-General, Godfred Dame who was present, described the launch of Justice Torkornoo's LEADing Justice Initiatives as novel, adding that it was the first time that a Chief Justice had officially laid out aspirations for the judiciary. 

“This is innovative and bold, and the Chief Justice is indeed bold and innovative,” he said. 

The forum was attended by members of the Bar, judges, and stakeholders in the justice delivery sector.