GHANA Country Profile

Judicial System

Individual Corruption

According to Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer 2009, one third of the citizens perceive the legal system to be the most corrupt Ghanaian institution among the six key institutions mentioned in its survey.

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 2009, the court system has a history of being subject to government interference. However, this is reportedly less prevalent in commercial matters.

Political Corruption

Freedom House 2009 states that scarce resources compromise the judicial process and poorly paid judges are frequently tempted by corruption. However, it is also noted that judicial corruption has not taken on a systemic nature. Courts have the power to review actions of the executive (i.e. the presidency, ministers and other officials) and have constitutional independence. Observers disagree on their operational independence, with some arguing that the courts rarely review executive decisions. Others find little evidence of political interference in judicial procedures.

If disagreement exists on the operational independence of the judiciary, most observers agree that corruption in Ghanaian courts remains a problem. According to a 2007 study on judicial corruption made by Ghana Integrity Initiative, the majority of both the judges, lawyers and litigants surveyed is 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 2010:
- 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 2009-2010:
- Business executives give the independence of the judiciary from influences of members of government, citizens, or companies a score of 3.8 on a 7-point scale (1 being '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 3.7 and 3.4 respectively on a 7-point scale (1 being 'extremely inefficient' and 7 'highly efficient').

Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2009:
- 46% of households surveyed consider the judiciary to be 'extremely corrupt'.

- 44% of households who had contact with the judiciary in 2008 report to have paid a bribe.

- Citizens give the judiciary a score of 4.1 on a 5-point scale (1 being '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 being '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.