GIMPA Law Conferences
Presents The Judiciary and Its Contribution to Ghana After 60: Reflecting on the Past, Analysing the Present, Preparing for the Future
Venue: GIMPA Executive Conference Centre Date: Thursday and Friday, February 15 & 16 2018
Day 1 Thursday, 15 February 2018
8:00 – 9:30 Registration & Breakfast 9:30 – 10:30 Opening Ceremony Introduction of Chairman: Mr. Kwaku Agyeman-Budu, Lecturer, GIMPA Law School Chairman’s Opening Remarks: Dr. Nana S. K. B. Asante, Paramount Chief, Asante Asokore Traditional Area Welcome Message from the Deputy Rector: Professor Philip Duku Osei, Deputy Rector of GIMPA Special Remarks: Mr. Kofi Darko Asante, Chair, GIMPA Council Reflections on Theme and Purpose: Dean E. Kofi Abotsi, Dean, GIMPA Law School Police Band & Cultural Troupe Keynote Speech: Her Ladyship Justice Sophia Akuffo, Chief Justice of Ghana Chairman’s Closing Remarks: Dr. Nana S.K.B. Asante, Paramount Chief, Asante Asokore Traditional Area Vote of Thanks: Ms. Enam Antonio, Lecturer, GIMPA Law School
Photo Opportunity & Interviews
MC: Mr. Nana Tawiah Okyir, Lecturer, GIMPA Law School
10.30 – 10.45 Coffee Break
10.45 – 12.15 Panel 1 High Level Discussion on the Conference Theme Moderator: Benson Nutsukpui, President – Ghana Bar Association
1 Speakers: Justice Emile Short, (Former Commissioner, Commission on Human Rights & Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Ghana)
Justice V.C.R.A.C. Crabbe, (Retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana)
Mr. Fui Tsikata, (Senior Partner, Reindorf Chambers)
12.15 – 1.30 Lunch
1.30 – 2.30 Panel 2 Ethics, Politics and the Judicial Process Moderator: Justice J.V.M. Dotse, Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana Speakers: Justice Patience Mills-Tetteh, (Justice of the High Court of Ghana) Ethics, Justice and the Judicial Process
Professor Raymond Atuguba, (Associate Professor, University of Ghana School of Law) Politics and Judicial Decision-Making: Case Studies from Ghana’s Supreme Court
Dr. Dominic Ayine, (Former Deputy Attorney General & Deputy Minister of Justice, Ghana) Judging the Judge: Ethical Considerations in Judicial Appointments in Ghana
Ms. Maame A.S. Mensa-Bonsu, (PhD Candidate, University of Oxford, United Kingdom) Of Foreign Footprints on our Constitution
2.30 – 2.45 Coffee Break
2.45 – 4.00 Panel 3 The Courts, Human Rights and Jurisdictional Issues Moderator: Mrs. Betty-Mould Iddrisu, Former Attorney General & Minister of Justice, Ghana Speakers: Mrs. Gloria Ofori-Boadu, (Lecturer, GIMPA Law School) Gender based violence in Ghanaian courts: A Critical Assessment
Mr. Tuinese Edward Amuzu, (Lecturer, GIMPA Law School) Giving meaning to “justice without barriers” in Ghana
Mr. Martin Kpebu, (Legal Practitioner, Fugar & Company) Improving Enforcement of Human Rights in Ghana: A Comparative Approach
4.00 Conference Cocktail Reception
2 Day 2 Friday, 16 February 2018
8.00 – 9.00 Breakfast 9.00 – 10.15 Panel 4 Contribution of the Judiciary to the Law in Ghana Moderator: Mr. Victor Brobbey, Lecturer & Head of Private Law Department, GIMPA Law School Speakers: Professor Victor Essien, (Adjunct Professor of Law, Fordham Law School, United States) Sovereignty and Subsidiarity: The Ghana Judiciary as the Bulwark Against Incipient Judicial Imperialism by African Regional Courts
Mr. John Darko, (Lecturer, GIMPA Law School) The Judiciary’s Development of Environmental Law Jurisprudence since 1957
Mr. Kwaku Agyeman-Budu, (Lecturer, GIMPA Law School & SJD Candidate, Fordham Law School, United States) & Ms. Maame A.S. Mensa-Bonsu, (PhD Candidate, University of Oxford, United Kingdom) The Contribution of the Judiciary in the development of Ghana’s Constitutional Jurisprudence
10.15 – 10.30 Coffee Break
10.30 – 11.45 Panel 5 The Judiciary and ICT: Challenges and Opportunities Moderator: Mrs. Eudora Koranteng, Principal, EHQ Corporate Services & Legal Consultancy Speakers: Mrs. Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, (Former Attorney General & Minister of Justice, Ghana and Partner, Lithur-Brew & Company) ICT & the Judiciary
Dr. Samuel Tweneboah-Koduah, (Lecturer, GIMPA School of Technology) Prisons Process Automation: A Transformational approach to Criminal Justice Delivery and Service Improvement
Mr. Ismael Andani Abdulai, (Managing Partner, Renaissance Law Consult & Adjunct Lecturer, GIMPA Law School) Taking the current when it serves: Navigating Ghana’s Judiciary into the Digital Age
Ms. Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom, (Assistant Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology) & Mr. Ebenezer Adjei Bediako, (Principal Research Assistant, Office of the Dean, Faculty of Law, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology) Implementing An E-Justice System in Ghana: Prospects, Risks, Challenges and Lessons from best practices
3 11.45 – 12.00 Coffee Break 12.00 – 1.00 Panel 6 Moderated Discussion: Parliamentary Perspectives on the Judiciary Moderator: Professor Victor Essien, Adjunct Professor of Law, Fordham Law School, United States Speakers: Honourable Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, (Majority Leader in Parliament, New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Ghana)
Honourable Haruna Iddrisu, (Minority Leader in Parliament, National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Former Minister of Employment & Labour Relations, Ghana)
1.00 – 2.00 Lunch
2.00 – 3.00 Panel 7 Comparative Perspectives on the Judiciary Moderator: Dean Lydia A. Nkansah, Dean, Faculty of Law, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
Speakers: Dr. Nightingale Rukuba-Ngaiza, (Senior Counsel – Africa, Middle East & North Africa Practice Group, World Bank, Ghana) Automatic Recording of Court Proceedings to Promote Transparency in Justice Delivery: Lessons from Selected Countries
Dr. Fructuose Bigirimana, (Dean, Faculty of Law, INES Ruhengeri, Rwanda) & Ismael Andani Abdulai (Managing Partner, Renaissance Law Consult & Adjunct Lecturer, GIMPA Law School) Access to Justice in a Changing World: A Comparative Study of Ghana and Rwanda
Ms. Maureen C. Bessette, (Resident Legal Advisor, United States Embassy in Ghana) Plea Bargaining in the USA
3.15 – 4.15 Panel 8 Economic Development, Investment & Funding Quality Justice Delivery Moderator: Professor Henrietta J.A.N. Mensa-Bonsu, Professor of Law, University of Ghana School of Law & Director, Legon Centre for International Affairs & Diplomacy
Speakers: Professor Paolo Galizzi, (Clinical Professor of Law, Fordham Law School, United States & Visiting Professor of Law, GIMPA Law School) Back to the Future: Fair Trial As Judges’ Tool to Promote Economic Growth & Development
Mr. Yoofi Grant, (Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre) Investment and the Judiciary
Ms. Elaine Bannerman, (Director, Policy Planning & Reform, Judicial Service of Ghana) Funding Quality Justice
4 4:15 Closing Ceremony Reflections on deliberations: Dean E. Kofi Abotsi, Dean, GIMPA Law School Vote of Thanks: Ms. Diana Asonaba Dapaah, Lecturer, GIMPA Law School
5.00 Conference Closing Reception
5