Dispatch from Ghana - Chelsea Paradis, University of Ottawa

Interns Chelsea Paradis and Edudzi Ofori
with Georgette at the JHR office in Ghana

This past summer I had the opportunity to explore access to justice isues in Ghana through the CLA-ACE Student Summer Internship Program. My colleague, Edudzi Ofori and I worked out of Accra, under the auspices of the non-governmental organization (NGO) Journalists for Human Rights (JHR).

We began our research by conducting interviews with experts and professionals from the legal and human rights fields, including judges from the lower courts, Legal Aid lawyers, NGO representatives, and a Queen Mother. These interviews helped us gain some insight into the legal system and form a better understanding of access to justice issues in a developing country.

One of the major access to justice issues in Ghana is the congested courts and prison system. The predominant cause of this congestion is the adjournment of cases, resulting in detainees being remanded to prison or police cells without having been tried, convicted and sentenced. The reasons for adjournments are varied. However, generally, the situation is the result of a serious lack of administrative support for the judiciary and court operations. Further, defence lawyers often simply do not appear for their court dates.

In an attempt to mitigate these systemic problems, the judiciary and the NGO community are focusing on increasing the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms. We had the opportunity to witness some ADR sessions at the Legal Aid Board and during the ADR Week in various courts. We also observed our supervisor, who is the founder and director of the West Africa Dispute Resolution Centre, give a three-day Workshop Training on Mediation to a group of 35 Queen Mothers from across Ghana.

Ultimately, we were able to produce a useful and substantial report on access to justice issues and prisoner’s rights in Ghana, which will provide a basis for future CLA internship work in that country.

The internship was an incredible learning experience. I developed an understanding about human rights and access to justice issues in Ghana and how the legal system works (or doesn’t work) in a developing country. I was inspired by the people we met who work in a very difficult and frustrating system, yet who refuse to give up. I was able to see first-hand the positive effects of ADR, especially for people who cannot afford to use the traditional legal system.

This experience has reconfirmed my passion and motivation to be in law school – and to use my law degree to practice in the areas of social justice and international human rights. Thanks CLA-ACE for an incredible opportunity!