The Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, has revealed that the Judiciary is in the process of securing funding to procure advanced speech-to-text machines that will be able to transcribe and translate local languages such as Ga directly into English in court.
According to him, the current machines in use can only capture the interpretation of court interpreters.
“We are in the process of receiving funding for a text machinery to help us speech-to-text. The speech-to-text machines, we have can only capture interpretation of the interpreter. We are getting to where a language in Ga would be translated in English,” the Chief Justice said.
He disclosed that the initiative is already in the offing and is expected to be completed by the close of the year.
“It is in the offing and by the end of the year we would have done it,” he stated.
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie made this known on Wednesday, October 15, 2026, while welcoming members of the Bar back from the legal vacation at the Supreme Court.
“You are very much welcome from the vacation. I hope you had a restful vacation,” he said, noting that some judges served as vacation judges during the break.
The Chief Justice commended judges and lawyers for their cooperation in handling the large number of cases last year and called for sustained collaboration in the new legal year.
“Last year there were a lot of cases and we managed to handle them and it was all due to your cooperation and input. We expect the same form of cooperation from the Bar,” he said.
He also disclosed that a circular has been issued to all courts to address complaints from lawyers about not being aware when judges are not sitting. Under the new arrangement, registrars will, as much as practicable, inform lawyers and litigants ahead of time if a court will not sit.
“It will demand a lot of your input because you can only be advised not to come if you have your contacts with the various registries. You are very much advised to leave your contacts, a credible one,” he advised, adding that the notification should not be misconstrued as interest in a case, but rather as an effort to help lawyers manage their schedules.
The Chief Justice further revealed that CI 47, the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, is currently undergoing revision, with many changes expected.
“CI 47 is now going through relaying and a lot of changes will happen and I will advise that when it comes you get yourself updated,” he urged.
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, who disclosed that he will retire on December 26, 2026, appealed to the Bar to help dispose of as many cases as possible before his retirement.
“I will retire by December 26, so between now and then I will plead with you so we deal with as many cases as we can,” he said.
The Deputy Attorney-General, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, on behalf of the Bar, welcomed the decision of the Judicial Service to promptly notify lawyers whenever a court would not be sitting.
He also seized the opportunity to welcome two of the three newly approved Justices of the Supreme Court – Justices Sophia Rosetta Bernasco Essah and Anthony Forson Jnr. – who were making their first appearance at the Supreme Court.
