The Africa Women Lawyers Association (AWLA) of Ghana has called on the Judicial Council to sanction lawyers who cause unnecessary delays in court proceedings.

According to AWLA, the procedure for filing cases in court was cumbersome and should be simplified.

This came to light at a training workshop organised for members of the Court Users Committee (CUC) at Suhum in the Eastern Region.

In her presentation, the Executive Director of AWLA, Ms Edna Kuwa said the position of her Association was based on the recommendations from their monitoring findings on access to justice at 15 District Courts in the country.

She said payment of transport cost of bailiffs to serve defendants add up to the filing fees, which turn to increase the financial burden to citizens in search of justice in court and there was the need for such burdens to be reduced.

Ms Kuwa explained that the training was part of AWLA’s implementation of its two-year project dubbed: “Strengthening Civic Participation and Social Accountability in Justice Delivery”.

She said the project was aimed at empowering citizens and other vulnerable groups to access justice in Ghana.

Ms Kuwa said the CUCs functioned as a mechanism for improving public participation in Judicial processes through information sharing among members of criminal justice institutions and empowered citizens.

She said the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service played a critical role and their participation in the project would immensely help justice for the poor.

The Executive Director of AWLA urged the public to use the courts instead of other means in seeking justice because the court was efficient in justice delivery.