Justice Senyo Dzamefe, a nominee to the Supreme Court, has supported a proposal to increase the number of justices on the Supreme Court bench.

He said, with sufficient judges, it would help the apex court to dispense the backlog of cases expeditiously.

He remarked: “Increasing the number of judges would speed up decisions on land, chieftaincy, and constitutional matters”.

Justice Dzamefe made the remarks during his vetting by Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Monday.

“Our Supreme Court is overburdened with more than 400 cases each year, unlike the United States, where state courts help reduce the load,” Justice Dzamefe.

Statistics by the judicial service showed that 12 judges handled 344 cases in the 2022/23 legal year, leaving 1,648 cases pending.

The Supreme Court nominee also shared his personal opinions on constitutional and important national matters.

Justice Dzamefe believed that with the current global trend, the country needed to adopt digital technology, including virtual hearing of cases in courts, to expedite its arbitration.

The nominee advocated adequate working tools and staff motivation for the judicial staff to aid in dispensing cases expeditiously.

He also believed that there must be timelines assigned to cases in court to aid in dispensing cases expeditiously, noting at least three months for criminal cases and six months for civil cases.

Justice Dxamefe reaffirmed his commitment to upholding Ghana’s constitutional provision on the residential term limit.

He emphasised his respect for Article 66(2) of the Constitution, which clearly stipulates that a person cannot hold office as President of Ghana for more than two terms.

President John Mahama, earlier this year, nominated seven justices currently serving on the Court of Appeals bench to the Supreme Court.

The nominees are Justice Senyo Dzamefe, Justice Sir Dennis Dominic Adjei, Justice Gbiel Simon Suurbaareh, Justice Philip Bright Mensah, Justice Janapare Adzua Bartels-Kodwo, Justice Hafisata Amaleboba, and Justice Kweku Tawiah Ackaah-Boafo.

The President’s nomination is based on Article 144(2) of the 1992 Constitution, which requires the President to appoint Justices of the Supreme Court in consultation with the Council of State and with the approval of Parliament.