Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Dame, has disclosed that his office has successfully saved Ghana over $15 billion, equivalent to over fifteen trillion Ghana cedis, through the resolution of various civil litigations since he assumed office.
He made these remarks at the Annual Ghana Bar Association Conference held in Kumasi under the theme, “Peaceful, Fair, and Transparent Elections: The Key to Sustainable Democracy.”
Dame highlighted that these savings were achieved by vigorously defending the state in both local and international litigation, signaling a shift away from what he described as the era of dubious and scandalous judgment debts.
“The era of unwarranted, dubious, and scandalous judgment debts against the State, I can say, are clearly a thing of the past,” Dame stated.
He further explained that the Office of the Attorney-General has been heavily involved in defending Ghana in a growing number of international disputes, particularly as the nation has expanded its economy and increased investments.
According to the Attorney-General, these disputes have required litigation in various international courts, including the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the London Court of International Arbitration, and domestic courts in countries like Norway, where Ghana recently won a case.
“There has not been a time that the Office has been more exposed to international litigation than the era in which we live. Industrialisation, the expansion of the economy and increase in investments have enhanced the risk of the nation in dealing with challenges filed on the international stage,” Dame remarked.
Despite the complexities, he noted that Ghana has achieved favorable outcomes in all international arbitration cases filed since 2021, with minimal costs incurred by the state.
Dame took particular pride in the fact that many of these cases were handled directly by the personnel of the Attorney-General’s office, without relying heavily on external legal counsel.
“Such is the strength of the capacity of the Office that now memorials, pleadings, and written submissions filed by the Office of the Attorney-General compare favourably with those filed by any lawyer on the international stage,” he said.
In defending the state, the Attorney-General acknowledged that his office has had to contend with numerous challenges, including resource constraints, but stressed the importance of patriotism and support from the public. He lamented the criticisms his office has faced from social commentators and civil society groups, some of whom he accused of distorting the results of legal victories.
“I am aware that some hired advocates for these unsuccessful claimants against the State and self-styled social commentators… hastily take to social media to denigrate the efforts of the State in defending such gargantuan claims,” he stated, urging them to recognize the potential consequences if the state had lost these cases.
“Can they just pause for a moment to reflect on what would have happened to the Ghanaian economy if even a fraction of these claims for billions of United States Dollars and trillions of Ghana Cedis had succeeded?”