Report No. 188

(XV) Ghana:

(http://www.pefghana.org/news/details_n.cfm?EmpID=824)

It has been felt that it is increasingly necessary for the establishment of special court to deal with commercial disputes to ensure transparency, efficiency and also speed up the process of dispute settlement between investors as well and promote viable trade and commerce. At a workshop organized on 30th April to May 2nd , 2003, it was opined that commercial courts, when established, would cater to the needs of the business community and would, in particular, encourage business development and investment growth by ensuring timely and efficient processing of commercial disputes. Some of the cases to be handled by the courts, as proposed, include:

(a) the contractual relationship of a business or commercial organization,

(b) the liability of a commercial or business organization,

(c) the restructuring or payment of commercial debts by or to a business or commercial organization or person,

(d) the winding up or bankruptcy of a commercial or business organization or person and

(e) the enforcement of commercial court award.

Summing up:

It will be seen that several countries have introduced the concept of 'Commercial Division' in their judicial decision making process. There may be differences in certain details but what is important is the introduction of the very concept of Commercial Division. Mostly, these are not Courts outside the existing judicial system but of a new Division in the existing system. They deal with cases of high pecuniary value and are Courts at a higher level than where the actions would otherwise have been normally filed. These Courts in various countries are manned by Judges with special experience in commercial matters. The procedure is more fast. The Courts also have state-of-the-art high-tech systems.