Togo: World Bank to Help Set Up 12 New Community Justice Houses

Justice

Tuesday, 18 March 2025 17:58

Togo: World Bank to Help Set Up 12 New Community Justice Houses

(Togo First) - The World Bank will support the establishment of 12 new community justice houses in Togo. Four of the houses will be in the Savanes region. The support was disclosed last week, during a visit of a World Bank delegation to the Agoè-Nyivé Community Justice House.

The delegation was led by Lisa Rosen, the Group's Vice President for Ethics and Internal Justice Services. They took the opportunity to observe how these justice houses operate and resolve minor disputes at a low cost.

Growing impact and adoption

Togo established the Community Justice House in 2018 to bridge the gap between traditional courts and local mediation systems. These structures reduce congestion in conventional courts and provide free, simplified access to justice. Roger Tagbé, Director of Access to Law and Justice, reported that referrals increased from 3,857 in 2022 to 5,518 in 2024. Recoveries also rose from CFA53 million in 2022 to CFA112 million in 2024. Mediation success rates improved from 85.80% in 2023 to over 90% in 2024.

Mipamb-Nahm-Tchougli, Togo’s Minister of Justice, emphasized that these improvements align with national priorities for accessible and efficient justice systems.

This article was initially published in French by Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho

REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business’ Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

TRADING ACROSS BORDERS (more info)

In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the“Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

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GETTING ELECTRICITY (more info)

Over the past two years, Togo’s ranking under the Doing Business’ Getting electricity and water indicator has increased consistently. Owing this performance to multiple reforms aimed at making it easier for businesses to access power and water, Lomé plans to introduce even more reforms this year to keep up its improvements.

REGISTERING A PROPERTY (more info)

Out of all the 'Doing Business’ indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lomé has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togo’s public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

To improve its business environment, Togo introduced some important reforms related to the payment of tax and duties. From the replacement of some taxes to the cancellation of others through exemptions, the country has only one objective: offer the most attractive tax framework to investors and economic operators. To achieve this, the authorities relied on digitization.