News:
July 9, 2026
Accra, Ghana – Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, has moved to allay fears surrounding the reintroduction of public tribunals, insisting that the proposed Tribunal Bill 2026 is firmly anchored in constitutional safeguards and will not repeat the excesses of the past.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament, Dr. Ayine acknowledged the historical concerns raised by the Minority regarding the legacy of public tribunals. He admitted that past tribunals engaged in certain excesses that Ghanaians were worried about. However, he stressed that the current bill has been “fine-tuned to align with the procedural safeguards and the human rights provisions of the constitution”.
The Attorney-General emphasized that the proposed tribunals are a constitutional creature, not a creation of the Mahama administration. He pointed to Articles 142 and 126 of the 1992 Constitution as the legal basis for their establishment. He outlined that the composition of the tribunals, featuring a legally qualified chairman and panel members, is designed to ensure both expertise and public participation.
To prevent any potential abuses, Dr. Ayine highlighted the establishment of a Tribunal Oversight Committee, which will operate under the authority of the Judicial Council. He advocated for a decentralized oversight structure, proposing regional committees to monitor the tribunals’ work and report any excesses to the Judicial Council and the Chief Justice for appropriate action.
“It is because we do not want a situation where any excesses associated with the tribunals of the past worry under a constitutional dispensation,” Dr. Ayine stated.
The bill, which has passed its first reading and is currently before the Committee on Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs, aims to establish a two-tier structure of Regional and District Tribunals. These tribunals are intended to reduce the growing backlog of cases and expand access to justice by allowing citizen participation in the delivery of justice.
“I am assuring every Ghanaian that the intent and purpose of the bill is to bring about expeditious administration of justice… and to ensure that citizens, ordinary citizens, can participate in the deliver of justice as envisaged under the constitution,” Dr. Ayine said.
Concluding his address, the Attorney-General sought to dispel the “ghost of the past,” promising that the abuses allegedly associated with the public tribunals of the past would not exist under the current constitutional dispensation.
Dominic Shirimori/Ghanamps.com