Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has urged the government to invest in Ghana’s existing courts instead of creating a new tribunal system, arguing that the country’s judicial architecture is functioning and requires better resourcing rather than additional institutions.
He said efforts to improve justice delivery should focus on modernising courts, providing adequate resources and accelerating digitalisation instead of establishing district and regional tribunals under the proposed Tribunals Bill, 2026.
Contributing to the debate on the bill in Parliament on Thursday, July 16, 2026, Mr. Afenyo-Markin maintained that Ghana’s current court structure was capable of delivering justice if given the necessary support.
“The justice architecture we have is not a broken architecture,” he said.
“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 Tribunal Bill seeks to reintroduce public tribunals as part of efforts to strengthen the administration of justice and improve access to courts. If passed, it will establish a reformed tribunal system to operate alongside the traditional courts with constitutional backing, oversight mechanisms and safeguards for due process and human rights.
It also seeks to operationalise Article 126 of the Constitution, which provides for tribunals within Ghana’s judicial system but has largely remained dormant.
Mr. Afenyo-Markin, however, argued that creating additional judicial bodies would divert attention from addressing longstanding challenges confronting the courts.
“Instead of improving on the structures and resourcing the courts, help the courts to be fully digitalized, help the courts to have the necessary tools to administer justice, then you say you are creating another bureaucracy to bring a new tribunal,” he said.
According to him, Parliament should prioritise investments that improve the efficiency of the judiciary rather than expanding its institutional framework.
He maintained that while the Constitution allows Parliament to establish tribunals, it does not compel lawmakers to do so.
“The Constitution says Parliament may determine,” he said. “I am saying that this Parliament must know that the justice architecture we have is not a broken architecture.”
Mr. Afenyo-Markin also questioned the practical role of the proposed tribunals, asking whether they would exercise civil or criminal jurisdiction and how they would fit within Ghana’s existing hierarchy of courts.
“Is it going to be in charge of civil matters or criminal matters?” he asked. “I am asking rhetorically.”
He said strengthening the capacity of the existing courts would do more to improve access to justice than creating parallel institutions.
Government, however, argues that the Tribunal Bill is intended to enhance the administration of justice by reviving the constitutional tribunal system and expanding access to justice. The proposed tribunals would operate alongside the conventional courts under defined oversight structures and procedural safeguards designed to protect due process and human rights.
Despite those assurances, the Minority Leader maintained that the priority should remain improving the courts already established under Ghana’s judicial system rather than creating what he described as another layer of bureaucracy.
