Average Time to Justice Delivery; A Case Study in the Upper West and East Regional District and Circuit Courts in Ghana

Abstract

In this study, survival analysis was used to determine the average time to justice delivery in law courts for the Upper East and Upper West regions of Ghana.  The study revealed that the average time to justice delivery was 103 days. Four major factors were found to contribute significantly to the average time to justice delivery.  These were; the type of court handling the case, the type or nature of case, the occupation of the accused and the number of subsequent hearings.  Also, it was evident from the study that cases terminated faster in Upper East courts as compared to the Upper West courts.  Finally, it was found that civil cases tend to have shorter life spans than criminal cases.

Keywords: Justice Delivery, Survival Analysis, Censoring, Court