© 2021 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Publishers. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies (ERATS) ISSN 2458 - 7338 | Volume 7 Issue 5 – May 2021 Issue pp 69-77 Available online at: https://noyam.org/journals/erats/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.2021751 INTRODUCTION The Chieftaincy institution is one of the most revered and sacred institutions in Ghana. This institution has survived over the years despite the challenges it faced during the colonial era and still facing in the current political dispensation. 1 Despite these challenges, the institution has persisted to this day. The resilience of the Chieftaincy institution has surprised adherent of the modernisation school of thought. This school of thought holds the view that with increasing urbanisation, industrialisation and the emergence of a multi-ethnic society and an educated elite less rooted in their traditional beliefs and practices, the Chieftaincy institution is bound to gradually lose its relevance within the African context. 2 However, this has not been the case as the Chieftaincy institution contrary to the position of the modernisation theorists has seen a resurgence in most African countries in the post-colonial period. 3 The institution has, however, been criticised by some as antiquated and one that must be done away with. The debate on the relevance of the Chieftaincy institution in post-colonial Ghana has raged for a very long time. The abolitionists feel it has lost its relevance while the anti-abolitionists believe the Chieftaincy institution is as relevant today as it has ever been. For the abolitionists they argue that the Chieftaincy institution should be abolished for the following reasons: 1 Kwame Boafo-Arthur, “Chieftaincy in Ghana: Challenges and Prospects in the 21 st Century.” In Chieftaincy in Ghana: Culture, Governance and Development, eds. I. Odotei and A.K. Awedoba (Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers, 2006), 145 2 Anamzoya Alhassan and Steve Tonah, “If You Don’t Have Money Why Do You Want to Be Chief? An Analysis of the commercialization of Justice in The Houses of Chiefs in Ghana,” Ghana Social Science Journal 7, no 1 (2010): 1. 3 Pierliugi Valsecchi, “He who sets Boundaries: Chieftaincy as a necessary institution in modern Ghana,” Department of Communication Working Paper, no 3 (2007): 1-2; Chieftaincy Act and Succession Disputes Resolution: A Panacea for Ensuring National Security? ABSTRACT The chieftaincy institution is a revered institution and as such attempts have been made to maintain its sanctity. However, over the years, the institution has been fraught with disputes thereby bringing its image into disrepute. The chieftaincy Act, 759 (2008) was enacted by the parliament of Ghana to regulate the institution. The Act has made provisions for the resolution of disputes that have attended the institution. This article is an attempt to assess the efectiveness of the Act on the dispute resolution mechanisms of the judicial committees of the Houses of Chiefs. Using interview and textual analysis as its main instruments, the article looks at the role of the Judicial Committees of the Houses of Chiefs in dealing with the numerous succession disputes that has bedeviled the institution. The article will assess the methods the Committee uses in handling cases that come before it and how parties to the succession disputes collaborate with the Committee to dispense with the case. The article argues that if the Judicial Committee is well resourced, it will be in a position to help deal with chieftaincy succession disputes expeditiously. This would reduce the incidents of open conficts resulting in deaths and destructions of properties thereby threatening national security. Keywords: chieftaincy, succession disputes, national security, houses of chiefs, arbitration Correspondence: Vincent Assanful Email: vassanful@ucc.edu.gh Publication History Received 8th April, 2021, Accepted 28th April, 2021, Published online 6th May, 2021. © 2021 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Publishers. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Vincent Assanful 1 1 Department of Religion and Human Values, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast - Ghana.