Attorney General and Minister of Justice-designate, Dr. Dominic Ayine, has opposed the potential reintroduction of the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Amendment Bill.
On June 27, 2022, Parliament passed an amendment to the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30), introduced by the then-Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame. This amendment formally incorporated plea bargaining into Ghana’s justice system for the first time.
During his vetting by Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Monday, January 13, Dr. Ayine criticized the underlying rationale of the bill but committed to thoroughly reviewing its provisions to ensure fairness and effectiveness.
“If the Hon. Member [Patrick Boamah] is seeking to know from me whether, in terms of the scope and substantive content of that bill, it will be introduced as it was, my answer is no. I disagree fundamentally with some of its logic,” Dr. Ayine stated.
He questioned the premise that preliminary applications unnecessarily delay trials, asserting, “The whole idea that preliminary applications are being used to delay conclusions of trials—I disagree fundamentally. I think that lawyers shouldn’t be constrained. If there are technical issues that judges have overlooked, lawyers should bring as many applications as they can.”
Dr. Ayine emphasized the judiciary’s responsibility to handle such applications efficiently to allow substantive trials to proceed. “It is incumbent on the judiciary to dispose of those [applications] expeditiously so that the substantive trial can proceed,” he argued.
He further criticized attempts to use legislation to restrict lawyers from filing preliminary applications, stating, “Some of these applications are fundamental in terms of seeking to do right by the law and procedure under Act 30. So, I disagree fundamentally with it.”
While pledging to reassess the bill critically, Dr. Ayine added, “If it should ever be tabled at all, or if the status quo remains, I will take a look at it. But I have fundamental issues with it.”
Background
On June 27, 2022, Parliament passed a Bill to amend the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure Act), 1960 (Act 30), sponsored by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, to formally incorporate plea bargaining firmly into the administration of justice in Ghana for the first time.
By this amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act, plea bargaining will be permissible in all cases except a few, which have been set out in the Bill passed by Parliament.
Plea bargaining is a process in criminal justice prevailing in other jurisdictions, where accused relinquishes the right to go to full trial in exchange for some other benefit.
For the State, the benefits of plea bargaining, as explained by the Attorney-General to Parliament before the second reading of the Bill earlier in March this year, include a reduction in caseloads of the courts and of prosecutors and saving the State time and money through avoiding long and protracted trials.
Others are decongestion of the prisons due to reduced sentencing, aiding in the reform of the accused and the satisfaction of victims of offences through compensation and restitution in addition to the punishment of the accused.
The Bill awaits Presidential assent before it becomes law.
