The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has affirmed that Ghana is no longer at the mercy of dubious and unwarranted judgment debts.

At the Annual Bar Conference in Kumasi today, Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, declared that Ghana has turned a corner on the issue of judgment debts, a problem that has plagued the nation for years.

Addressing the theme of "Peaceful, fair and transparent elections: the key to sustainable democracy," Dame highlighted the strides made by his office in protecting the state from unwarranted financial losses.

“The era of unwarranted, dubious, and scandalous judgment debts against the State, I can say, are clearly a thing of the past,” Godfred Dame announced to a packed audience.

Since assuming office three years ago, he said, the Attorney General’s Office has saved Ghana billions of dollars - equivalent to over ¢15 trillion - in numerous civil litigations both domestically and internationally.

Godfred Dame underscored the unprecedented exposure of the Attorney General’s Office to international litigation in recent years, citing cases in countries like Norway and arbitration claims in cities such as Paris, Stockholm, and New York.

“It is gratifying to note that in each of these international arbitration claims filed since 2021, the State has achieved favourable outcomes with little or no cost to the nation,” he said.

The Attorney General attributed this success to the formidable civil litigation team he has built, comparing the Office’s legal documents favourably with those of private legal practitioners on the international stage.

"Through an unwavering commitment to justice and the protection of the State's interests, we have preserved state properties and defended against claims amounting to billions of United States dollars," Godfred Dame said.

Acknowledging the challenges faced by his office, he took aim at detractors who, he claimed, sought to undermine the state’s legal victories.

“Some hired advocates for these unsuccessful claimants against the State, and self-styled social commentators masquerading as civil society experts, hastily take to social media to denigrate the efforts of the State,” he remarked.

“I only say in reply, there ought to be a modicum of patriotism.”

He called on Ghanaians to consider the economic disaster that could have befallen the nation if even a fraction of these claims had been successful.

“Can they just pause for a moment to reflect on what would have happened to the Ghanaian economy if these claims for billions of dollars and trillions of cedis had succeeded?” Godfred Dame quizzed.

AG Dame sent a clear message that his office is more capable and better prepared than ever to defend the interests of Ghana, ensuring that the days of costly judgment debts are firmly in the past.