By: Her Worship Georgette Carmel Lutterodt, Esq., Her Worship Anastacia Yaa Agyeiwaa Karimu, Esq. and Her Worship Dromo Afarley Djarbeng, Esq. Ghana’s criminal justice system is undergoing a necessary and long-overdue shift. The Community Service Bill, 2026, currently before Parliament, reflects a growing consensus—one that has been echoed in prior discussions and scholarship—that imprisonment should not … Continue reading The Community Service Bill, 2026: Learning from Experience, Avoiding Excess
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Emerging Criminal Justice Reforms in Ghana: The Parole System
A fact many people do not know is that the conversation around parole in Ghana has been ongoing for some time. What is important to understand is that the idea of parole for convicted and sentenced prisoners is not foreign to Ghana’s criminal jurisprudence. The 1992 Constitution already makes room for it. Article 208 empowers … Continue reading Emerging Criminal Justice Reforms in Ghana: The Parole System
The Legal Shift in the Role of Complainants and Victims in Ghanaian Criminal Proceedings
Ghana’s criminal process has traditionally been structured around a simple principle: criminal cases are prosecuted in the name of the Republic, not the individual victim. While victims, often referred to as complainants, are central to proving the facts of the case, their legal role has historically been limited. They report the offence, assist the police … Continue reading The Legal Shift in the Role of Complainants and Victims in Ghanaian Criminal Proceedings
Part 1: What Happens to a Criminal Case When the Accused Person Dies?
This article is Part 1 of a three-part short series examining the judicial processes that follow when an accused person dies in the course of a trial, and the principles that underpin them. What happens when an accused person dies in the middle of a trial? When an accused person dies while a criminal case … Continue reading Part 1: What Happens to a Criminal Case When the Accused Person Dies?
Enhanced Punishment in Sentencing
By: Rita Ofosua Appiah, Esq. What is an enhanced sentence? For every criminal offence, there is an offence creating section and a punishment section. Without these two, an action cannot be considered a crime. While the offence creating section declares an act or omission to be a crime, the punishment section determines the penalty or … Continue reading Enhanced Punishment in Sentencing
Community Service Regimes in Selected Common Law Jurisdictions
By: Her Worship Georgette Carmel Lutterodt, Esq., Her Worship Anastacia Yaa Agyeiwaa Karimu, Esq. and Her Worship Dromo Afarley Djarbeng, Esq. This article follows an earlier discussion on the interpretive tension between sections 296 and 297 of the Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), which revealed a significant doctrinal gap in Ghanaian sentencing … Continue reading Community Service Regimes in Selected Common Law Jurisdictions
Sentencing in the Ghanaian Criminal Justice System: Reconciling Sections 296 and 297 of Act 30 with the Criminal Offences Act
By: Her Worship Georgette Carmel Lutterodt, Esq., Her Worship Anastacia Yaa Agyeiwaa Karimu, Esq. and Her Worship Dromo Afarley Djarbeng, Esq. The Principle of Legality in Ghanaian Criminal Law A foundational principle of Ghana’s criminal jurisprudence is the doctrine of legality: nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege. Simply put, no person may be convicted of a … Continue reading Sentencing in the Ghanaian Criminal Justice System: Reconciling Sections 296 and 297 of Act 30 with the Criminal Offences Act
Criminal Appeals in Ghana: A Simple Explanation
Why Did the Court Reduce Nana Agradaa’s Sentence? When news broke that Patricia Asieduaa, popularly known as Nana Agradaa, had her sentence reduced on appeal, many people assumed something improper had happened. Others felt that perhaps the court had gone soft or bowed to public pressure. In the judgment itself, however, the judge made it … Continue reading Criminal Appeals in Ghana: A Simple Explanation
Let’s Unpack the Committal Process
Introduction The District Court, also known as the Magistrate Court, has three of the most interesting criminal jurisdictions within our court system. Among other things, it hears juvenile cases, determines extradition applications brought by the State, and, most critically for this discussion, decides whether persons charged with the gravest criminal offences should be committed to … Continue reading Let’s Unpack the Committal Process
Template for Petitions to the Attorney-General in Criminal Cases
Introduction: Filing a petition to the Attorney-General (AG) is a formal way for individuals or organizations involved in criminal matters to request legal action or intervention. Many readers may not know how to structure such a petition, what information to include, or how to present it professionally. To make this process easier, we have created … Continue reading Template for Petitions to the Attorney-General in Criminal Cases
Criminal Law Blog Ghana 