Justice Senyo Dzamefe, a Court of Appeal Judge and nominee to the Supreme Court, has called for the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual court systems as part of sweeping reforms to address the persistent delays in Ghana’s justice delivery.
Justice Dzamefe argued that technology-driven interventions, including real-time audio and video recordings powered by AI, could expedite court processes and reduce the mounting backlog of cases and modernize the court system in the country.
He proposed a system in which records should be ready by the end of proceedings by using AI to make transcriptions.
“The time of long handwriting is long gone past,” he said when he appeared before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Monday, June 16, 2025.
He added that virtual hearings if adopted, could also lower transportation costs for both litigants and legal professionals especially in remote areas.
Additionally, Justice Dzamefe called for more court infrastructure to ease the burden on the judiciary “We need more courts to spread the workload and make justice faster,” he told the committee.
He also suggested that the duration for court case should be limited to 3 months for criminal matters and 6 months for civil disputes as part of efforts to reducing backlog of cases.
These suggestions made by the Supreme Court nominee is aimed at ensuring an efficient and faster court system in the country at a critical moment when public frustration mounts on systemic delays, unequal access to justice especially in under-served regions.
Justice Dzamefe’s expertise from presiding over cases in courtrooms across Ghana – from bustling Accra to remote districts – lends weight to his proposals for both high-tech solutions and community-based justice approaches.
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