Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has urged the government to prioritise strengthening Ghana’s existing courts instead of establishing a new tribunal system, arguing that the country’s judicial framework is already capable of delivering justice if properly resourced.
Speaking during parliamentary debate on the Tribunals Bill, 2026, on Thursday, July 16, Mr. Afenyo-Markin said efforts to improve access to justice should focus on modernising the courts, accelerating digitalisation and providing adequate logistical support rather than creating additional judicial institutions.
“The justice architecture we have is not a broken architecture,” he told Parliament.
“We have a district court. We have a circuit court. We have a High Court. We have a Court of Appeal and a Supreme Court.”
The Tribunals Bill, 2026, seeks to reintroduce public tribunals as part of Ghana’s judicial system to strengthen the administration of justice and improve access to legal remedies. The proposed legislation would operationalise Article 126 of the Constitution, which provides for tribunals but has remained largely dormant. It also proposes oversight mechanisms and safeguards to protect due process and human rights.
However, Mr. Afenyo-Markin argued that creating a parallel tribunal structure would not address the real challenges facing the judiciary.
“Instead of improving the existing structures and resourcing the courts, helping them to be fully digitalised and equipping them with the necessary tools to administer justice, you are creating another bureaucracy to bring a new tribunal,” he said.
He maintained that Parliament should channel resources into improving the efficiency of the existing courts rather than expanding the judicial system with new institutions.
The Minority Leader also stressed that while the Constitution empowers Parliament to establish tribunals, it does not make their creation mandatory.
“The Constitution says Parliament may determine,” he said. “This Parliament must recognise that the justice architecture we have is not a broken architecture.”
He further questioned how the proposed tribunals would operate within Ghana’s current judicial system, asking whether they would exercise civil or criminal jurisdiction and how they would fit into the existing hierarchy of courts.
Although he acknowledged that the Constitution permits the establishment of tribunals, he insisted that strengthening the capacity of the current courts would be a more effective way of improving justice delivery.
The government, however, maintains that the Tribunals Bill is intended to revive the constitutional tribunal system, expand access to justice and complement the work of the conventional courts under clearly defined oversight and procedural safeguards. Despite those assurances, Mr. Afenyo-Markin insisted that improving the existing courts should remain the government’s priority.
