The 8th Maritime Law Seminar for Judges of the Superior Courts has opened in Accra with a call on judges to broaden their horizon and position themselves to meet challenges in the maritime industry.
“It will be imperative for judges to broaden the judicial horizon and increasingly advise on settlement of disputes through alternative dispute resolution methods including conciliation, mediation and arbitration not to mention out-of-court settlements,” Dr. Kofi Mbiah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA) stated when he set the tone for the two-day seminar which started from October 11-12 2012 in Accra.
The seminar, which is organized by the GSA in collaboration with Ministry of Transport and the Judicial Training Institute, is intended to update the knowledge of judges on maritime laws and how they could effectively adjudicate cases in that regard.
Dr. Mbiah noted that the challenges of maritime boundary delimitation, piracy and maritime security will open up new fields of legal and judicial enterprise with its attendant legal challenges that judges would have to respond to.
He also stated that the continuing legal education seminars have become important and relevant in view of the rapid changes taking place in the world today.
“Providing continuous legal education has thus become essential, as it affords practicing judges to keep abreast with developments in the law. This is what the maritime law seminar is purposed to achieve.”
He indicated that the maritime law seminar would in 2014 chalk a decade, adding that “on that occasion the GSA will consolidate all the existing material into one legal reference book titled “The Consolidated Admiral- 2005 to 2014” for the benefit not only of judges, members of the bar and students but also researchers who are interested in the development of the law.”
Dr. Mbiah reiterated GSA’s commitment in providing the requisite support to shippers, protecting and promoting their interests and working with all stakeholders to ensure the speedy clearance of goods to reduce the cost of doing business at the ports and to make the Ghanaian shipper competitive in the global shipping arena.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Transport, Collins Dauda stated that the threat of piracy, oil theft, damage to oil and gas pipelines, maritime accidents and other unlawful acts that have come close to the corridor’s of Ghana are worrisome.
“It is now more than ever that the protection of our maritime zones be heightened. It therefore calls for us to understand our responsibilities, obligations as a sovereign nation to appreciate the nature of our maritime zones,” he said.
He noted that government would stay committed in ensuring that pragmatic measures were put in place to remove all barriers to trade to ensure a speedy cargo clearance process, avoidance of congestion and maintain high security standards at the ports.
“The rapid growth of our trade has brought in its wake a strong realization that the current infrastructure cannot sustain the growth, hence the expansion of infrastructure at the two ports of Tema and Takoradi.”
The seminar was opened by the Chief Justice, Georgina Theodora Wood, who called on GSA to extend the training to lawyers as well.
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