Communications Tribunal Begins Operation

The Electronic Communications Tribunal (ETC) established to provide recourse for telecom players who might be aggrieved by decisions made by public officials acting as regulators has began full operations.

The four-member tribunal set up under Section 88 of the Electronic Communication Act 775 and sworn into office in February 2015 will consider appeals against decisions made by the National Communication Authority (NCA).

It will also consider appeals against decisions of the Dispute Resolution Committee of the National Communication Authority.

Bridget Katsriku, Chairperson of the Public Service Commission, who officially announced the commencement of operation of the tribunal which will be housed at the former NCA office, said it has become necessary for government to establish ground rules for the emerging electronic communication industry, hence the passage of the Electronic Communication Act 775 in 2008.

She said “the decisions of the regulator may sometimes not go down well with some parties in the industry, therefore in our current democratic dispensation and the rule of law it is necessary that the law should provide recourse for people who might be aggrieved by decisions of the NCA.”

“Under section 90 of the Act, the Authority is required to prepare proposals for rules of procedure for the approval of the tribunal and then to parliament for passage into law. I am happy to state that parliament finally passed the Rules of Procedure of the Electronic Communications Tribunal Regulations, 2016 (LI 2235) into law July, this year for the ECT to become operational,” he said.

Chairperson of the Tribunal Prof. Dr. Justice Kofi Date-Bah, retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana, in a statement, said tribunal will work to provide an open, fair and impartial forum for the resolution of all disputes in the electronic communications industry.

The other members are Dr Nii Narku Quaynor, lecturer, University of Cape Coast, Biadele Mortey Akpadzi, former Executive Director, EOCO and Tawia Akyea, lawyer as registrar.

By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri