The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Wood has drawn a link between investment and the prevalence of an effective judicial and adjudicatory mechanism and highlighted reforms that have taken place in the judiciary that would promote investment.
She was addressing the MIT Sloan Africa Business Club in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, on the legal frameworks that were helping to shape Ghana’s image as a premier investment destination.
The Chief Justice acknowledged the recognition of successive governments of the need to position the country as a preferred investment destination through the attraction of increasing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows.
She further outlined political and economic stability, good infrastructure, availability of natural resources and more importantly the establishment of a transparent, equitable, robust and predictable legal framework among others as key factors that influence the investment decision.
Mrs Justice Wood mentioned reform measures that had taken place in the rules of court, the automation of the courts intended to enhance efficiency and the establishment of commercially-oriented and other specialised courts.
She singled out for special mention the success that had been achieved and the confidence engendered in the judicial process as a result of the use of mandatory mediation/arbitration in commercial adjudication of cases in situations where parties demonstrate a desire to have a matter decided expeditiously.
Mrs Justice Wood reinforced the commitment of her administration to deepen confidence in the Judiciary and said to meet the legitimate expectations of the public for greater objectivity, neutrality and transparency, her administration recently introduced an electronic case assignment system to remove any possibility of case fixing through the assignment of cases to judges based on personal sentiment or other extra-legal considerations.
On Ghana’s investment potentials, the Chief Justice cited recent statistics such as the World Investment Report 2010 and the Doing Business 2011 Report as evidence of the progress made by governments to improve the legal structures as a complement to its investment promotion and protection efforts.
The World Investment Report 2010 ranked Ghana in the 8th to 15th country bracket for the highest FDI inflows in African countries in 2009 while the Doing Business 2011 Report, which compared business regulations in 183 economies, adjudged Ghana as the best place for doing business in West Africa and also 67th in the global log for countries with ease of doing business and 44th in the log of countries that protect investors.
The Chief Justice mentioned the key investment related legislation such as ACT 478, which set up the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and sector specific legislation intended to impact positively on the Ghanaian business community such as Alternative Dispute Resolution Act 2010, (ACT 798) Foreign Exchange Act 2006, (ACT 723) and the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2008 (ACT 749) among others.
She also stressed that as a measure of Ghana’s commitment to creating a favourable investment climate for both nationals and foreign companies, the country had entered into 26 Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and eight Double Taxation Treaties (DDTs) as at May 2010 with countries such as the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Canada, Botswana and Iran.
Ghana has embarked on a reform of its intellectual property laws with a view to incorporating the obligations assumed under international treaties, among others within domestic legal rules.
She mentioned the Ghana Investment Fund Act (2002), Patents Act (2003) and the Copyright Act (2005) as evidence of this.
Ghana is a signatory to the Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and as a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), has fulfilled all her obligations under the Trade Related – Aspect of Intellectual Property Agreement (TRIPs Agreement).
Mrs Justice Wood further told her audience that the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda, which represents the country’s medium term strategic plan, highlighted the importance the country placed on creativity and innovation.