The Ghana Judicial Service, with support from the European Union (EU), has launched a web library that would give access to court records on electronic devices such as the laptops computers, desktop computers, mobile phones and tablets.
The move is to help lawyers, students, parties and the public access legal information by a click of a bottom, and also to enforce transparency in the delivery of justice.
Chief Justice Anin Yeboah, launching the Web-Based Library on Monday in Accra, said the digital library was important to a country that practices common law, as “our jurisprudence is based in large part on case law and precedent.
“This means that for practitioners of the law – the Bench, the Bar, Ministry of Justice & Attorney Generals Department etc. – ready access to law reports is as essential as knowledge of the law itself.”
According to him, this intervention is needed in the country, due to the reason that it combines common law with customary law, that requires practitioners to have adequate understanding and familiarity on how these legal concepts work together.
He indicated that for years, the Supreme Court had held custody of judicial decisions contained in its law reports through the Supreme Court library, meanwhile, keeping this library has been a challenge.
“Were it even to be up-to-date, the challenge of universal access to its contents would persist. It is also expensive and time-consuming process to stock, update and access the library contents in hard copy,” he said, and added: “This difficulty is felt even more acutely by those in the regions other than the Greater Accra Region.”
Justice Anin Yeboah sees the digital drive as convenience to spearhead access to judicial reports and records that would serve the needs of professionals and other interested parties.
The Chief Justice was extremely happy that the EU, under the Accountability, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (ARAP) Programme, was supporting Ghana to put together a web-based library.
He reiterated that the e-library would provide instant access to all the contents that were previously available in the Supreme Court Library, adding: “This electronic resource will improve access to key judicial decisions, laws and information that will guide judges, lawyers, students and all relevant stakeholders in Ghana’s judicial system.
“It will also enable us to make these resources available at a much cheaper cost and instantaneously to all who require access to them.”
The EU Ambassador, Her Excellency Diana Acconcia, on her part, said the EU, in the spirit of accountability, rule of law and anti-corruption, supported the Judicial Service to create the web-based library.
She stated that these set of values underpin the importance of democracy and the independence of institutions to protect rights and liberties. H. E. Diana Acconcia added that the launch marks the success of the EU implementation programme, where the first component had 300 judges and magistrates being trained on refresher courses on environmental law, creation of public relations and complaints unit, and development judicial technology.
She believes the e-library would provide swift access to legal information and all relevant documents, adding “the e-library is here to stay in the interest of justice and the Ghanaian society.
“We did so, because we understand the difficulties in Ghana for accessing key laws, [and] court judgements, [which] impede the effective and efficient administration of justice. It is an important tool, as it helps access to justice, [and] fundamental human rights, and top priority for the EU all over the world,” she stated.
Justice Nasiru Sulemana Gbadegbe is the Chairman of the Web Library Management Committee.
The post EU supports Ghana to establish Judicial Service Web-library appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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