A rule of law specialist with the Legal Resource Center, Enock Jengre, is optimistic, the electronic Case Tracking System will reduce interference in justice delivery.
The CTS is software that collects, collates, and harmonizes data from the time a suspect is arrested to the time judgment is delivered.
All piloting police stations are expected to key in all criminal cases reported.
The CTS is part of a USAID Justice Sector Support program.
According to him, the CTS will curb traditional interference since all reported cases will be keyed into the system and monitored by other justice delivery institutions.
“With the introduction of CTS, every criminal case reported at the police station will be keyed into the CTS and once those cases are keyed into the system, there are certain people who are tracking the cases reported, so once we see that a case has been pulled down, we will find out what has been the status of it” he noted
Spelling out the specific roles and limitations of chiefs as provided in the constitution, the rule of law expert said
“The chieftaincy act in article 270 talks about the institution of chieftaincy in Ghana, and article 277, spells out exactly who a chief is in Ghana”.
“Chiefs can handle matters or cause that affect chieftaincy such as the nomination, institution, enstoolment and destoolment of a chief and everything that affects chieftaincy and that is all the act talks about”
“So chiefs are not expected to do things that are outside their mandate, for instance when it comes to felonies, chiefs don’t have the mandate to sit on it and adjudicate, but many times, we see them try to interfere because of friendship, linage they may want to trial those cases or settle it within their setting which is inappropriate and illegal and that is what CTS will curb,” he said at a sensitization forum on Thursday, August 12.
What is the Case Tracking System
To improve information sharing and coordination in Ghana’s Justice delivery system, an electronic case tracking system (CTS) was launched in Accra in 2018.
The CTS project is funded by the USAID in partnership with Legal Resource Center, Crime Check Foundation, and Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.
The CTS project will be implemented in forty (40) districts in seven (7) regions; Western, Greater Accra, Northern, Bono, Upper East, Ashanti, and Volta.
Benefits of CTS
The project will progressively scrutinize the criminal justice space positively through the following:
-development of a comprehensive design and sustainable roll-out process for the integrated case tracking system.
-Implement a testing phase and identifying the requirements for the sustainable use and expansion of the integrated case tracking system and Improve procedures and policies to strengthen change management, coordination, and communication across key justice sector institutions.
