Ghana’s courts will adopt electronic filing, authentication and service of legal documents as the standard way of working from 1 October 2026, Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie has confirmed.
Announcing a major shift in how justice is administered, the Chief Justice said the move would be delivered under the Judiciary’s E-Justice Plus Agenda and would be backed by the gradual automation of courts across the country, starting at the very top of the system.
Speaking at a grand durbar to climax the Supreme Court’s 150th anniversary celebrations at the Ohene Konadu Auditorium of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), he set out a timetable for the rollout.
He explained that with the start of the new legal year in October, the Judiciary would “commence automation of the courts across the country, starting with the Supreme Court, to be followed by the Court of Appeal, and the High Court.”
From 1 October 2026, electronic filing, electronic authentication and electronic service of court processes will no longer be optional but will become the default mechanism for handling cases.
‘Access to justice must not be constrained’
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie framed the reforms as a deep organisational change rather than a superficial upgrade in technology.
He said the initiative “reflects our determination to ensure that access to justice is no longer unnecessarily constrained by geography, bureaucratic or avoidable delay.”
Arguing that the justice system had to adapt to contemporary demands, he stressed that modern tools should enhance, rather than replace, judicial values.
“Technology should never replace justice, but it should make justice more accessible, more efficient, and more responsive to those it exists to serve,” he told the audience.
The Chief Justice said the measures sit within a broader E-Justice Plus Agenda intended to create a modern, digitally enabled court system while safeguarding the Judiciary’s core principles and traditions.
Rules of Court overhaul to go before Parliament
Alongside the technological reforms, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie revealed that the Judiciary had completed a comprehensive review of the Rules of Court.
He warned that legal procedures must serve litigants rather than hinder them.
“But procedure must never become an obstacle to justice. The Rules exist to facilitate the fair determination of disputes, not to frustrate them,” he said.
The Chief Justice confirmed that the revised Rules would be laid before Parliament at the start of the next legal year in October.
According to him, the updated framework is designed to streamline processes, cut down on needless technicalities, improve overall efficiency and align more closely with how litigation is now conducted in practice.
“They represent another important step towards a justice system that is both principled and practical,” he added.
Sustaining public confidence
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie said the Judiciary intended to work closely with stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of both the digital reforms and the new procedural rules.
He acknowledged, however, that persistent delays in the justice delivery system remained a concern and would require ongoing effort to address if public trust was to be maintained.
“Acknowledging these challenges is not a sign of institutional weakness. It is evidence of institutional maturity. Institutions that believe they have nothing left to improve often begin, unknowingly, to decline,” he said.
The Chief Justice underlined that the combination of electronic processes, automated courts and revised rules was aimed at delivering a justice system better equipped to meet the expectations of citizens in the twenty-first century, without sacrificing its fundamental integrity.
