Ghana passes Public Tribunal Bill, 2026 to revive tribunals despite Minority boycott

Image: Simon Ontoyin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Three-member panels chaired by a lawyer would hear criminal matters; the Minority argues Clause 4 creates a parallel judiciary.

Jurisdiction GhanaPractice Competition and Regulatory, Dispute Resolution and ArbitrationSector Public Sector

Ghana’s Parliament passed the Public Tribunal Bill, 2026 in July, despite opposition from the Trades Union Congress and a boycott by the Minority, Graphic Online reported. The bill was passed at third reading on 16 July on the motion of Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Dr Dominic Ayine and goes to President John Dramani Mahama for assent.

What the bill does

The bill sets out the jurisdiction, composition and procedure of tribunals and creates a Tribunal Oversight Committee. Tribunals would sit as three-member panels, with a lawyer as chair and two non-lawyers, and would hear criminal matters. The government’s stated aims are to reduce case backlogs, speed up disposal of cases and improve access to justice. The bill is linked to Article 142 of the 1992 Constitution, which provides for Regional Tribunals within the judiciary; these had become defunct.

The objections

Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin argued that Clause 4 would create confusion and a parallel judiciary with coordinate jurisdiction outside the constitutional design. He said the answer to problems in the court system was to “reform, resource, equip and retool” it, and referred to abuses before tribunals in the PNDC era. A Minority attempt to delete Clause 4 failed on a headcount of 135 to 16, after which the Minority boycotted the remaining proceedings.

Legal questions

Any legislation creating tribunals with criminal jurisdiction must comply with the fair trial guarantees in Article 19 and the provisions on the judiciary in Chapter 11, including rights of appeal and the independence of adjudicators. The composition of panels with non-lawyers, the offences within jurisdiction and the route of appeal to the superior courts will be central to any constitutional challenge before the Supreme Court.

For businesses, the relevance depends on the offences assigned. If tribunals hear economic or procurement offences, companies and executives involved in investigations will need to understand the procedure and appeal routes. The final assented text and any regulations should be reviewed when published.