By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
Ghana is moving to fundamentally restructure its judicial landscape by bringing back public tribunals, to fast-track economic, environmental, and specialized criminal cases.
The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Mr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, has officially laid the Tribunal Bill 2026 before Parliament. The bill passed its first reading and has been referred to the Committee on Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs for detailed scrutiny.
The initiative is being seen as reviving a Constitutional Mandate, which seeks to fully operationalize Article 126 and Article 142 of the 1992 Constitution. While the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and High Court form the traditional superior court structure, the Constitution explicitly provides for the creation of Regional Tribunals.
Despite having constitutional backing, these tribunals have been largely defunct or underutilized for decades. The new bill creates a clear legislative framework to set up operational Regional and District Tribunals across the country.
Specialized Jurisdiction: Galamsey and Tax Fraud.
The reintroduction of the tribunal system directly responds to growing public frustration over slow judicial processes for high-stakes crimes.
The newly structured tribunals are expected to hold specialized jurisdiction over swift prosecution of environmental degradation offenses, especially Illegal Mining (Galamsey) related cases, Economic Crimes, especially High-profile fraud, corruption, and cases regarding, causing financial loss to the state, Revenue Offenses like tax evasion, customs violations, and smuggling.
At the District-Level, the tribunals will handle Minor offenses and infractions swiftly at the local level with the return of the Panel System.
Unlike traditional courts where a single judge often presides over lower-court matters, the 2026 tribunal model reintroduces lay panel participation.
Per the details of the bill, each tribunal will be headed by a legally qualified Chairman. However, the Chairman will sit alongside ordinary citizens appointed as panel members.
Legal experts say this structure aims to increase citizen participation, demystify the legal process, and boost public confidence in the integrity of verdicts.
Addressing Historical Concerns:
The mention of “public tribunals” historically evokes memories of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) era in the 1980s, when tribunals operated seemingly outside the traditional judiciary and faced heavy criticism for human rights abuses.
To address these concerns, the Ministry of Justice emphasized that the Tribunal Bill 2026 completely integrates the tribunals into the formal Judicial Service.
The tribunals will operate under the strict oversight of the Chief Justice, with all defendants retaining full constitutional rights to legal representation, fair trial procedures, and the right to appeal decisions to the higher courts.
The parliamentary Committee on Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs is expected to invite stakeholders, including the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), civil society organizations, and legal academics, for public memorandum submissions before the bill returns to the plenary for the second and third readings.
