In the Supreme Court case of Jones Bonuah @ Eric Annor Blay v The Republic, the appellant appealed against (a) his conviction for robbery and (b) the decision of the Court of Appeal dismissing his appeal before them on grounds, among others that, the record of appeal from the trial High Court produced by the...
The right to privacy is a fundamental human right. Article 18, clause 2 of the 1992 Constitution provides that: “No person shall be subjected to interference with the privacy of his home, property, correspondence or communication except with law and as may be necessary in a free and democratic society for public safety or for...
Ghana is widely conceived as a religious country. Religious norms and practices have unsurprisingly gained grounds and in some instances compete with the law . One such instance is in the area of inheritance. But the Supreme Court of Ghana has held in Abdul Rahman Osumanu Giwah, Alhaji Ali Adamu Giwah and Hajia Fatima Alhassan Giwah...
The law sometimes works in mysterious ways. And its principles are sometimes clearly out of date and out of touch with current realities. One of such principles is the presumption of advancement. The presumption of advancement means that the law presumes that the transfer of property to a recipient or the purchase of property in...
The Supreme Court in a 5-2 majority decision[1]has held that there was nothing unconstitutional in the manner in which former President John Dramani Mahama exercised his prerogative of mercy leading to the pardon of some three contemnors. As Benneh JSC speaking for the majority of the court noted, “as long as the executive [P]resident...
The High Court, Accra, Human Rights Division presided over by His Lordship Anthony K. Yeboah J.A, in The Commissioner, CHRAJ & 2 Ors Vrs Ghana National Fire Service & Attorney-General[1], declared that Regulation 33(6) of the Conditions of Services of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS)[2]which required employees of the GNFS who were women to...
The Supreme Court in the case of Martin J Verdose v Patricia Abena Verdose-Kuranchie[1] has affirmed the constitutional limitation on the ownership of freehold interests in land by foreigners. In this case, the Petitioner, a Dutch, married the Respondent, a Ghanaian, in Holland. They moved to Ghana and went on to adopt two children. They...
Five years ago today, the Supreme Court of Ghana handed down its decision in the now almost obscure The Republic v High Court (Commercial Division), Accra, Ex Parte Attorney-General, NML Capital Ltd. 1st Interested Party; Republic of Argentina, 2nd Interested Party case. In international circles – both legal and political- the case and the story...
The Supreme Court in the case of Republic v Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie & 4 Ors [1] has upheld the right of accused persons being tried summarily to have access to all documents in the possession of the prosecution – irrespective of whether the prosecution intends to rely on them or not. “A trial cannot be fair,...
On Thursday 11th January 2018, news broke of the proposed appointment of Mr. Martin Alamisi Burnes Kaiser Amidu as Special Prosecutor1. Mr. Amidu once served as the Deputy Attorney General in the PNDC military government and also as the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice from January 2011 to January 2012 under the John Evans Atta-Mills...