Our Concept

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” Martin Luther King Jnr.

The objectives are bounded by a number of universal protocols .This is also reflected in the in the para legal Bill in parliament at the moment

1.  Articles 8 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that: “everyone has the right to an effective remedy by competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law”.

2. CCE is to provide access to legal advice and services without hindrance to all, especially the under privileged and under-served in society who seek redress through the justice system.  CCE believes that justice is a fundamental human rights which should be enjoyed by all members of the society without stress or fear as stipulated in the United Nations Women’s principle of “not leaving any one behind” and the Sustainable Development Goals ( SDG) 5, which aims at achieving equality and empowerment of women and girls as a matter of social justice,  and goal 16,  which is to promote peaceful, inclusive  societies for sustainable access to justice for all and effective, accountable  and inclusive institutions at all levels. To achieve these goals, policies are to focus on the marginalized and the excluded in society.

3.  Convention On The Elimination Of All forms Of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

Access to justice is a fundamental human right which is declared under article 8 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as” everyone has the right to an effective remedy by competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.”

A fair and efficient system for providing justice is critical to the proper functioning of any society especially in the developing countries such as Ghana. Not only does it hold individuals, including state officials, accountable for their actions, but it also sets norms of behavior for other citizens.

Legal assistance and access to accurate and timely information are considered essential to improving lives and reducing poverty. As stated in the report of the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly in October 2012 by the Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, “access to justice serves as a means to protect and enjoy other rights and for the rights to access to justice to be truly enjoyed, a number of other human rights must be protected, such as the rights to information, the rights to physical safety, the rights to confidentiality and the rights to privacy”.

Sadly, state institutions mandated to provide protection, security and services relating to access to justice have been unable to serve all the needs of the underrepresented and marginalized because they are under-resourced and inundated.

The rural and urban poor in Ghana, seeking legal redress encounter either one or multiple barriers. Some barriers impeding the rural and urban poor and other disadvantaged groups ( people living with AIDS, trafficked individuals, children and drug users) from accessing justice can be identified as follows:

Cost of legal advice, administrative fees and other collateral costs that relates directly to lack of financial resources.

1. Lack of access to information and lack of legal recognition which are subtle and harder to identify and arise out of discrimination against the poorest and most marginalized.
2. Low level of awareness of legal rights.
3. In civil and administrative matters where aid is not available, persons living in poverty are often denied access to justice in matters involving property, welfare payments, social housing and eviction, and family matters such as maintenance and child custody.
4. Fear of reprisal or further stigmatization.
5. Inadequate capacity of the judicial system (often resulting in under-prioritization of cases and the impositions of unaffordable fees).
6. Lack of coordination and duplication of roles in justice sector institutions that result in delays.

These obstacles are unfortunately compounded and deeply entrenched by the societal prejudices and stereotype against the poor. Ideally, the justice process underscores the dignity of the person, 

as well as being a step for individuals to move on with their lives. Unfortunately, in reality the system is sometimes used to entrench power imbalance and reinforces stigma and gender discrimination that calls for collaborative approach in solving this challenge.

In Ghana, the participation of civil society in access to justice has been mainly adhoc and has served the need of the justice sector institution much more than the poor and marginalized.

In view of this, the Centre for Citizens Empowerment (CCE) has established itself as a rights, advocacy and advisory center placed at the disposal of service users where they are assisted   to access advice and services without hindrance.