News:
July 9, 2026
Dominic Ayine insists reintroduction of tribunals does not undermine Ghana’s judiciary
Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dominic Ayine, has strongly defended the government’s decision to reintroduce the tribunal system, dismissing claims that it undermines the traditional court structure in Ghana.
Speaking on the matter, Ayine argued that the tribunal system is constitutionally mandated and serves as a complement to existing judicial institutions rather than a replacement.
“I disagree with the view that bringing back the tribunals means that we are not working with the existing judicial system in order to expedite trials in our country,” Ayine stated. “In fact, we are complementing what exists by bringing back the regional tribunals and the district tribunals.”
The Attorney General acknowledged concerns about potential “excesses” from past iterations of the tribunal system but maintained that the current proposal is fundamentally different.
“I think that the whole argument about the tribunals harks back to what I have said, that there were excesses. And so we should not bring back anything resembling what existed in the past,” he clarified.
Ayine emphasized that the initiative to operationalize the tribunal system is rooted in constitutional provisions rather than any attempt to bypass the traditional judiciary.
“The constitution creates the system,” he explained. “And the only thing that I’m doing is basically bringing a bill to operationalize the constitution and implement it. I’m going to implement the provisions of the constitution in the letter and in the spirit.”
The Attorney General further noted that President John Dramani Mahama has been “very forthright in making resources available to the judiciary,” pointing to the creation of specialized courts within the traditional court system to handle specific cases, including those related to illegal mining (galamsey).
“Now we have about five special courts that deal with matters relating to illegal mining, as well as oral trials,” Ayine said. “So there is no contradiction whatsoever.”
Addressing critics who oppose the operationalization of the tribunal system, Ayine argued that such opposition amounts to calling on the government not to implement the constitution.
“Those who say that we should not operationalize the tribunal system are calling upon us not to implement or operationalize the constitution,” he asserted.
The Attorney General stressed that his proposal remains firmly within the constitutional framework for an integrated and unified judiciary.
“Nothing that is said in this bill would be outside the remit of the constitutional regime for the operation of the integrated and unified judiciary that we have under the constitution,” Ayine concluded. “The judiciary comprises not only the so-called traditional courts but also the tribunals.”
The reintroduction of the tribunal system is expected to feature prominently in upcoming parliamentary debates as the government pushes forward with its judicial reform agenda.
Dominic Shirimori/Ghanamps.com