The Chief Justice, Justice Anin-Yeboah has indicated that justice may not easily be accessible to the poor or the legally aided litigant in Ghana.

According to him, this is because of the numerous constraints faced by the Judiciary.

"For example, from central Accra to Nsawam, there is not a single court on that stretch until Amasaman. This should not happen in any civilized country. The same is situation true for Kumasi. From Kumasi central to Obuasi, there is no court on the way and that is a distance of about 36 miles.”

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana (AMJG) in Accra on Wednesday, Justice Anin-Yeboah said, “we have serious constraints as an institution. In a population of over 30 million, we have less than 404 Judges and Magistrates administering justice in a litigious society like Ghana.

His comments followed similar sentiments expressed by the President of the Association, Justice Senyo Dzamefe. The President of AMJG decried the current conditions of service of Magistrates and Judges, particularly, the manner in which their fuel allowances are being paid.

He said the piecemeal approach in paying their allowances leaves much to be desired.

Justice Dzamefe, therefore, called on government to better their conditions of service as the current state of affairs is nothing to write home about.

The Chief Justice said, these constraints notwithstanding, members of the judiciary need to adjust to them in the hope that government will apply more resources to provide court infrastructure to support justice delivery in the country.

“We have to do our best within the limited logistics constraints to serve the justice needs of our compatriots”, he urged.

Justice Anin-Yeboah used the occasion to applaud the Executive and the Legislature for the construction of new courts under the District Assembly Common Fund, “the judiciary is now to receive over a hundred courts throughout the country within the next year, “he announced

He urged members to advise litigants to resort to Alternative Dispute Resolution in cases where this is appropriate, to lessen the burden imposed on Judges and Magistrates.