Publication:
Ghana - Establishment of the Commercial Court

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dc.contributor.authorCofie, Sandra
dc.date.accessioned2012-08-13T12:28:01Z
dc.date.available2012-08-13T12:28:01Z
dc.date.issued2007-12
dc.description.abstractAn often-repeated remark about George Kingsley Acquah, Ghana's chief justice from 2003 until 2007 and driver of his country's major judicial reforms was that "it took a man like him for this to happen". The author certainly subscribe to this view, having observed his impact from position as director of the judicial reform, project development and implementation unit at the judicial service of Ghana. Doubtless, most prominent reform is the establishment of the commercial division at the High Court in Accra, the first commercial court in Ghana, and possibly the most significant addition to the judicial service since independence. After decades of political turmoil that had left behind a disrupted court system, the reform not only brought about shorter delays to commercial dispute resolution. It also instilled new spirit in Ghana's justice sector. In light of Ghana's policy objective of becoming a middle income country by 2020, the state of legal affairs looked dire a mere 10 years ago. Military rule had given way to an emerging democracy only in the 1990s. In 1982, three judges had been murdered, and the following years witnessed a severe lack of judicial personnel and resources. More than half of posts in district courts were vacant, backlog and delays in adjudication persistent. The legal system was a slow, erratic, inconsistent and costly environment, hostile to the effective performance of the judicial function. Ghanaian businesses suffered: diagnosis of the commonwealth secretariat and the World Bank described contract enforcement as generally inadequate. Long delays and corruption made uncertainty in contract enforcement pervasive and posed a major obstacle to doing business in Ghana.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/12/9880229/ghana-establishment-commercial-court-ghana-establishment-commercial-court
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/10627
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/10627
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherWorld Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseriesIFC Smart Lessons Brief
dc.rightsCC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectABUSE
dc.subjectACCESS TO JUSTICE
dc.subjectACCOUNTANT
dc.subjectADJUDICATION
dc.subjectADVISORY SERVICES
dc.subjectBAILIFF
dc.subjectBEST PRACTICES
dc.subjectBUSINESS LAW
dc.subjectCASE MANAGEMENT
dc.subjectCOMMERCIAL COURT
dc.subjectCOMMERCIAL COURTS
dc.subjectCOMMERCIAL DEBT
dc.subjectCOMMERCIAL DISPUTE
dc.subjectCOMMERCIAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION
dc.subjectCOMMERCIAL JUDGE
dc.subjectCONTRACT ENFORCEMENT
dc.subjectCORRUPTION
dc.subjectCOURT
dc.subjectCOURT ADMINISTRATOR
dc.subjectCOURT ADMINISTRATORS
dc.subjectCOURT OF APPEALS
dc.subjectCOURT ORGANIZATION
dc.subjectCOURT PRACTICE
dc.subjectCOURT SYSTEM
dc.subjectCOURTS
dc.subjectDEFAULT JUDGMENT
dc.subjectDEMOCRACY
dc.subjectDISBURSEMENT
dc.subjectDISPUTE RESOLUTION
dc.subjectGENDER
dc.subjectGOOD GOVERNANCE
dc.subjectHUMAN RIGHTS
dc.subjectINITIATIVE
dc.subjectINTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
dc.subjectJUDGE
dc.subjectJUDGES
dc.subjectJUDICIAL COUNCIL
dc.subjectJUDICIAL PERSONNEL
dc.subjectJUDICIAL REFORM
dc.subjectJUDICIAL REFORMS
dc.subjectJUDICIAL SERVICE
dc.subjectJUDICIAL TRAINING
dc.subjectJUDICIARY
dc.subjectJURISDICTION
dc.subjectJUSTICE
dc.subjectJUSTICE SYSTEM
dc.subjectLAWYER
dc.subjectLAWYERS
dc.subjectLEGAL EDUCATION
dc.subjectLEGAL PERSONNEL
dc.subjectLEGAL SYSTEM
dc.subjectLEGISLATION
dc.subjectMEDIATION
dc.subjectMEDIATORS
dc.subjectPROFESSIONALS
dc.subjectREGULATORY STRUCTURE
dc.subjectRULES OF PROCEDURES
dc.subjectSALARIES
dc.subjectSERVICE DELIVERY
dc.subjectTRAINING FOR JUDGES
dc.subjectTRIAL
dc.subjectWILL
dc.titleGhana - Establishment of the Commercial Courten
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crosscuttingsolutionareaGender
okr.date.disclosure2012-01-17
okr.date.doiregistration2025-04-29T09:54:09.694651Z
okr.doctypePublications & Research::Brief
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/12/9880229/ghana-establishment-commercial-court-ghana-establishment-commercial-court
okr.globalpracticeFinance and Markets
okr.globalpracticeGovernance
okr.guid359951468282916652
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum000333038_20080925012357
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum9880229
okr.identifier.report45639
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2008/09/25/000333038_20080925012357/Rendered/PDF/456390BRI0Box3120Commercial120Court.pdfen
okr.region.administrativeAfrica
okr.region.countryGhana
okr.topicLegal Institutions of the Market Economy
okr.topicGender::Gender and Law
okr.topicLaw and Development::Judicial System Reform
okr.topicFinance and Financial Sector Development::Bankruptcy and Resolution of Financial Distress
okr.topicPublic Sector Corruption and Anticorruption Measures
okr.topicPublic Sector Development
okr.unitDoing Business - IFC (FGIDB)
okr.volume1 of 1
relation.isSeriesOfPublication99147cd6-fa98-4a58-b3e7-81af3f4ffd98
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery99147cd6-fa98-4a58-b3e7-81af3f4ffd98
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