Private legal practitioner, Bobby Banson has called for a legal framework to provide compensation to individuals who endure prolonged trials only for their cases to be discontinued by the state through nolle prosequi or other legal means.
Speaking on the issue on TV3's The Key Points, Banson highlighted a gap in Ghana's Constitution, noting that while compensation is provided for those who are unlawfully imprisoned, there is no provision for individuals who spend years defending themselves in court only for the prosecution to be withdrawn. "The Constitution gives you compensation only if you are wrongly imprisoned.
If it is found that your incarceration was unlawful, you are entitled to compensation.
But if you've been taken through four years of a trial, and then it is withdrawn by nolle prosequi or any other means, the Constitution doesn't provide any compensation," Banson explained on February 8.
