THE LAW 101: The rise and integration of the Tribunal System in Ghana (1979-1993) (Part I)

Consequently, state policy deliberately established an entirely separate, four-tier pyramid of public tribunals that ran completely parallel to the traditional court structure: National Public TribunalRegional Public TribunalDistrict Public TribunalCommunity Public TribunalAttitude and policy splitThe regime’s policy direction was to maintain a system entirely independent of, and competitive with, the traditional judiciary.

The series relies, inter alia, on books by two legal luminaries to chart the evolution of the tribunal system from an opaque military apparatus into a structure widely rejected by the public, as evidenced by consecutive constitutional reviews recommending its total abolition and de-establishment.

In A Handbook of the Constitutional Law of Ghana and its History, author Sir Kofi Kumado observes:"In origin, it included the Regional Tribunals which was a carry-over from the Public Tribunal System established by the P.