Individual Corruption

In Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2010, more than one-third of the surveyed households consider the judiciary to be 'extremely corrupt', while more than one-fifth reports to have paid a bribe in 2009. Moreover, the judiciary is ranked by the surveyed households as the fifth most corrupt institution in Ghana, according to Ghana Integrity Initiatives' Voice of the people 2011.

Business Corruption

Courts are generally slow in disposing of cases and at times face challenges in enforcing decisions. Due to the high level of perceived corruption in the judicial system, many companies choose to settle cases out of court, usually with the assistance of a lawyer, according to the US Department of State 2011. The same source reports that the court system has a history of being subject to government interference. However, this is reportedly less prevalent in commercial matters.

According to the World Bank & IFC Enterprise Surveys 2007, a substantial amount of the surveyed companies believe that the court system in Ghana is fair, impartial and uncorrupted.

Political Corruption

Freedom House 2011 notes that scarce resources compromise the judicial process and poorly paid judges are frequently tempted by corruption. However, it is also pointed out that judicial corruption has not taken on a systemic nature. According to another Freedom House 2010 source, the judicial system is also not free from executive interference, as the president influences the appointment of all superior court judges, including the Chief of Justice. Likewise, Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Council and in consultation with the Council of State.

According to a 2007 study on judicial corruption by Ghana Integrity Initiative, the majority of both the judges, lawyers and litigants surveyed are of the opinion that corruption in the judiciary is a 'very real' phenomenon, and more than half of the judges report that they have experienced situations in which attempts have been made to influence their decisions with gifts or pressure from social relations. However, a comprehensive code of conduct for judges has been in place since 2005 and complaints against judges or judicial staff can be given to the Judicial Service's Complaint Unit. The Judicial Service of Ghana does also provide information on court fees, and judicial reforms, services and organs.

Frequency

The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2012:
- Enforcing a commercial contract in Ghana requires a company to go through an average of 36 administrative procedures, which takes an average of 487 days and costs an average of 23% of the claim.

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012:
- Business executives give the independence of the judiciary from influences of members of government, citizens, or companies a score of 4.1 on a 7-point scale (1 'heavily influenced' and 7 'entirely independent').

- Business executives give the efficiency of the legal framework for private companies to settle disputes and to challenge the legality of government actions and/or regulations a score of 4.2 and 3.8 respectively on a 7-point scale (1 'extremely inefficient' and 7 'highly efficient').

Ghana Integrity Initiatives: Voice of the people 2011:
- Citizens give the judiciary a score of 3.6 on a 5-point scale (1 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt').

Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010:
- 35% of households surveyed consider the judiciary to be 'extremely corrupt'.

- 22.6% of households who had contact with the judiciary in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

- On average, citizens give the judiciary a score of 3.9 on a 5-point scale (1 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt').

Transparency International: Bribe Payers Index 2008:
- Responding business executives assigned the judiciary a score of 3.7 on a 5-point scale (1 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt').

Afrobarometer: Summary of Results Ghana 2008
- 79% of Ghanaian households surveyed perceive judges and magistrates to be involved in corruption.

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2007:
- Close to 60% of companies surveyed believe that the court system is fair, impartial and uncorrupted.