Vetting: Building more courts won’t fix case backlog – Supreme Court nominee Justice Bartels-Kodwo

Supreme Court nominee Justice Janapare Adzua Bartels-Kodwo has pushed back against the commonly held view that expanding courtroom infrastructure is the key to clearing the backlog of cases choking Ghana’s judicial system.

During her vetting before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Tuesday, June 17, Justice Bartels-Kodwo argued that the problem lies not in the number of courtrooms but in deeper structural inefficiencies that slow down the justice delivery process.

“If we are just talking about more claims court, I believe that the court as we have it now, we have the space for those small claims, and setting up more courts in my view respectfully will not solve the problem of cases not moving fast,” she stated.

Her comments contrast sharply with those of fellow nominee Justice Senyo Dzamefe, who told the committee a day earlier that expanding court infrastructure—alongside digital reforms—was essential to addressing delays in Ghana’s judicial system.