The newly inaugurated High Court at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison, is to start sitting to hear motions and appeals from October 6, when the new Legal Year commences.

In order to ensure a smooth commencement of proceedings, the court has requested to be equipped with the list of all remand prisoners at the facility as of August 30, by the end of the first week of September, latest.

The Chief Justice, Georgina Theodora Wood last July inaugurated the court within the premises of the Nsawam Maximum Security Prisons to ensure speedy trial of remand prisoners to cut down on over-crowding in the prisons.

The facility is being supported by the British High Commission.

The Chief Justice has appointed Justice Constant K. Hometowu as the Justice of the High Court, Nsawam Medium Security Prison who would exercise criminal jurisdiction conferred on all high courts.

Additionally, Justice Hometowu would exercise jurisdiction as a Judge of the Circuit Court and District Magistrate Court.

The Judge would ensure that the court hears all manner of criminal cases pertaining to remand prisoners.

The Court is to enhance fair trial and prisoner rights and to ensure that their guaranteed rights are protected.

The Chief Justice indicated that the inauguration was in recognition of the nation’s commitment to the internationally accepted minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners.

It is expected that the court would enable cases of remand prisoners to be disposed off expeditiously and therefore, contribute to decongesting of the prisons.

Justice Hometowu told the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Thursday that a workshop has been organised for judges and magistrates on how to deal with remand prisoners and had impacted on their operations, since they are now handing down lower sentences than they used to do.

As part of the Remand Review Project, the Review Task Force would convene and determine the cases that fall within the criteria that have been established for the filing of applications in respect of remand prisoners.

The list of approved cases will then be communicated to enable prospective applicants file the appropriate applications, using forms designed by the Judicial Service to facilitate the process.

Justice Hometowu noted that the applications should be filed latest by September 15, to enable the Court staff (Registry) process the applications for transmission to the prosecutors and defence counsels, who may be willing to represent some of the applicants.

He said this procedure is being adopted to ensure that the filing process is objective, transparent and well-coordinated, devoid of capriciousness.

Justice Hometowu pledged to conform to established ethical standards for public institutions, to ensure that the integrity of the court process is maintained and safeguarded.