Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has called on the government to allocate resources to Ghana’s existing court system rather than establishing a new tribunal framework. He contends that the current judicial structure is operational and requires increased funding rather than the introduction of additional institutions.
He emphasized that initiatives aimed at enhancing justice delivery should concentrate on modernizing the courts, ensuring sufficient resources, and expediting digital transformation, rather than creating district and regional tribunals as proposed in the Tribunals Bill, 2026.
During his contribution to the parliamentary debate on the bill on Thursday, July 16, 2026, Mr. Afenyo-Markin asserted that Ghana’s existing court system is capable of administering justice if adequately supported.
“The justice architecture we possess is not flawed,” he stated.
“We have a district court, a circuit court, a high court, a court of appeal, and a supreme court.”
The Tribunal Bill aims to reintroduce public tribunals to enhance the administration of justice and improve access to the courts. If enacted, it will create a revamped tribunal system that operates alongside traditional courts, complete with constitutional support, oversight mechanisms, and protections for due process and human rights.
Additionally, it seeks to activate Article 126 of the Constitution, which allows for tribunals within Ghana’s judicial framework but has largely remained inactive.
However, Mr. Afenyo-Markin contended that establishing new judicial entities would distract from efforts to resolve the persistent issues facing the courts.
“Rather than enhancing the existing structures and providing the courts with necessary resources, assist the courts in achieving full digitalization and equipping them with the essential tools for administering justice, instead of proposing the creation of another bureaucratic layer for a new tribunal,” he remarked.
He urged Parliament to focus on investments that enhance the judiciary’s efficiency rather than expanding its institutional framework.
He asserted that although the Constitution permits Parliament to create tribunals, it does not obligate lawmakers to do so.
“The Constitution states that Parliament may decide,” he remarked. “I am asserting that this Parliament must recognize that the justice framework we possess is not flawed.”
Mr. Afenyo-Markin further probed the practical function of the proposed tribunals, questioning whether they would have civil or criminal jurisdiction and how they would integrate into Ghana’s current court hierarchy.
“Will it oversee civil issues or criminal issues?” he inquired. “I pose this question rhetorically.”
He expressed that enhancing the capabilities of the existing courts would be more effective in improving access to justice than establishing parallel institutions.
Conversely, the government contends that the Tribunal Bill aims to improve the administration of justice by reinstating the constitutional tribunal system and broadening access to justice. The proposed tribunals would function alongside traditional courts, governed by specific oversight frameworks and procedural protections designed to uphold due process and human rights.
Despite these assurances, the Minority Leader insisted that the focus should remain on enhancing the courts already established within Ghana’s judicial framework, rather than instituting what he referred to as an additional layer of bureaucracy.
