Chief Justice Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo has expressed deep concern over the lack of skills and resources available to judges for handling cyber-crime cases.
She, therefore, called for measures to be put in place to enhance the judiciary’s capabilities in addressing cyber-crime matters.
Justice Torkornoo made these remarks when a delegation from the Joint Cyber-security Committee (JCC) and the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) paid a courtesy call on her.
The delegation, led by Dr. Albert Antwi-Boasiako, the Director-General of CSA, discussed with the new Chief Justice pertinent issues affecting the Judicial Service as a member of the Joint Cyber-security Committee (JCC).
This meeting is part of the JCC’s strategy to connect with its members and other institutions, providing insights into its ongoing activities within the realm of cyber-security.
The JCC, established pursuant to Section 13 of the Cyber-security Act, 2020 (Act 1038), comprises 18 institutions mandated to collaborate with the CSA and the private sector for the implementation of relevant cyber-security measures in the country.
The judiciary is represented on the JCC by Her Ladyship Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe, a Justice of the Appeal Court.
Welcoming the delegation, Justice Torkornoo commended the judiciary for the role it plays in interpreting and enforcing the laws governing cyber-space, despite the challenges they face with regards to the ever-changing cyber-security industry.
Touching on the state of the IT infrastructure of the Judicial Service, Justice Torkornoo expressed concerns about the lack of standardisation and interoperability of IT systems and potential cyber-attacks that could undermine the integrity and availability of the judicial service’s infrastructure.
In his remarks, Dr. Albert Antwi-Boasiako, who is also the Chairperson of the JCC, emphasised the need to institutionalise cyber-crime and cyber-security knowledge in the curriculum for the training of the judiciary at the Judicial Training Institute, in particular, and legal education in general.
In this regard, Dr. Antwi-Boasiako indicated the resolve of the JCC to support the Chief Justice to integrate cyber-crime and digital evidence training into the curriculum of legal professionals in the country as a whole, noting that such an intervention will help improve the knowledge base of legal professions in cyber-security as a new branch of emerging law in the country.
The Director-General of the CSA also raised concerns about the state of cyber-security of the Judicial Service and the cyber threats targeting critical information infrastructures of the country and urged the Chief Justice to consider improving the cyber-security posture of the Judicial Service as a key priority, in view of the Chief Justice’s vision to adopt IT systems to improve the administration of justice in the country.
The judiciary’s representative on the JCC, Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe, lauded the Chief Justice for her leadership and vision to expand cyber-crime and digital evidence training for the judiciary.
