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Tue, 17 Jun 2025 Headlines

Court of Appeal must be made stronger to reduce caseload on Supreme Court — Justice Mensah

Supreme Court nominee, Justice Philip Bright Mensah Supreme Court nominee, Justice Philip Bright Mensah

Supreme Court nominee, Justice Philip Bright Mensah, has proposed strengthening the Court of Appeal as a viable solution to reducing the heavy caseload on the Supreme Court.

He believes that if the Court of Appeal is empowered to handle more cases conclusively, fewer matters will escalate to the apex court, thereby enhancing the efficiency of justice delivery.

Appearing before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Tuesday, June 17, Justice Mensah emphasised the need for a deliberate and coordinated effort to make this possible.

“The Court of Appeal must be very strong. And by strong, I mean we need more judges. They are doing well, but we must strengthen the court further so that some of the cases will not travel beyond that,” he stated.

He added, “There must also be a conscious effort on the part of the legislature and the Rules of Court Committee to make this work. Of course, such a decision must go through a wide national debate.”

Touching on a related matter, Justice Mensah said any move to cap or expand the number of justices at the Supreme Court must take into account the court’s jurisdiction and workload.

Quoting from an annual report of the Judicial Service, he revealed that as of June 2023, a total of 595 cases were pending before the Supreme Court.

“I brought this report—an annual report of the Judicial Service—and as of June 2023, we were informed just last week that 595 cases were pending in the Supreme Court. So, when we talk about capping, we must also take into consideration the number of cases awaiting attention at the court,” he stressed.

Isaac Donkor Distinguished
Isaac Donkor Distinguished

Is a journalist with a keen interest in politics, current affairs, and social issuesPage: isaac-donkor-distinguished

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