Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo has called for the adoption of relevant digital laws to build the capacity of the Judiciary in cybersecurity since most of them lack the skills and resources.

Justice Torkornoo said this when a delegation from the Joint Cybersecurity Committee (JCC) and the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) called on her at her office.

The delegation, led by the Director-General of the CSA, Dr Albert Antwi-Boasiako, discussed with the new Chief Justice pertinent issues affecting the Judicial Service as a member of the Joint Cybersecurity Committee.

The visit was also part of the plan of the JCC to touch base with its members and other institutions to explain its activities.

The JCC, established pursuant to Section 13 of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038), comprised 18 institutions mandated to collaborate with the CSA and the private sector for the implementation of relevant cybersecurity measures in the country.

The Judiciary is represented on the JCC by Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe, Justice of the Appeal Court.

Welcoming the delegation, the Chief Justice commended the Judiciary for the role they played in interpreting and enforcing the laws governing cyberspace, despite the challenges they faced regarding the ever-changing cybersecurity industry.

On the state of the IT infrastructure of the Judicial Service, Justice Torkornoo expressed concerns about the lack of standardisation and interoperability of IT systems and potential cyber-attacks that could undermine the integrity and availability of the Judicial Service’s infrastructure.  

In his remarks, Dr Albert Antwi-Boasiako, who is also the Chairperson of the JCC, emphasised the need to institutionalise cyber-crime and cybersecurity knowledge in the curriculum for the training of the Judiciary at the Judicial Training Institute, in particular, and legal education in Ghana, in general.  

In this regard, Dr Antwi-Boasiako indicated the resolve of the JCC to support the Chief Justice to integrate cyber-crime and digital evidence training into the curriculum of legal professionals in the country as a whole, noting that such an intervention will help improve the knowledge base of legal professions in cyber security as a new branch of emerging law in the country.

The Director-General of the CSA also raised concerns about the state of cybersecurity of the Judicial Service and the cyber threats targeting critical information infrastructures of the country, and urged the Chief Justice to consider improving the cybersecurity posture of the Judicial Service as a key priority, in view of her vision to adopt IT systems to improve the administration of justice in the country.

The Judiciary’s representative on the JCC, Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe lauded the Chief Justice for her leadership and vision to expand cyber-crime and digital evidence training for the Judiciary.