The High Court, Kumasi presided over by Justice Angelina Mensah-Homiah denied a construction company, Star of the Sea Construction (“Company”) the right to recover a sum of GH¢41,000 from Samuel Mensah Abroampah (“Defendant”)[1] who had promise to secure a contract for the Company. The Plaintiff Company allegedly entered into an agreement with the Defendant, for...
Category: Criminal Law
Non-Custodial Sentences in Ghana
In recent times, attention has been drawn to the challenges facing prison facilities in Ghana, especially to the issue of congestion. This has triggered a myriad of reactions and calls for noncustodial sentences for minor offences and misdemeanours in order to decongest the prisons. A noncustodial sentence is a punishment given by a court of...
Bail In Ghana Today
Bail is the process of procuring the release of an accused person from legal custody. In order for bail to be granted, the accused person undertakes that she would be available at such a time and place specified by the bail bond. In an application for bail, two parties may be required. The first is...
Recent Developments in Criminal Procedure in Ghana
On 7th June 2018, the Supreme Court in the The Republic v Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie and 4 Others (the NCA case) held that on a true and proper interpretation of article 19 (2) (e) and (g) of the 1992 Constitution, an accused person had the right to be given adequate time and facilities for the preparation...
What is Entrapment?
Now that the dust is almost settling on the latest work of investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas, it is probably time to examine one of the main charges levelled against him. Entrapment. According to his critics, he leads unsuspecting persons on into committing offences they would otherwise not have committed. The big question therefore is...
Supreme Court Sets Parameters for Disclosure of Information to Accused Persons
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,...
The Civil Aspect of Criminal Procedure: Enforcing Restitution Orders in a Criminal Case
In a criminal case, a judge may make orders such as the payment of money or the return of property found to have been stolen by the accused person. This is what is referred to as restitution in criminal procedure. Traditionally, a judge in a criminal case could only make restitution orders against an accused...
A Case for The Inclusion of Blackmail in The Criminal Offences Act
Mr. X, a successful politician after a long day, received a call from a rather strange number. The person on the other end of the line told Mr. X that he has full knowledge of all Mr. X’s sexual escapades with numerous young women across the country. He makes an offer to Mr. X for...
Pardon me, I have a right to appeal!
On 30 November 2016, the Court of Appeal, Accra in Republic v Tsatsu Tsikata held that the grant of a presidential pardon to a convict did not take away the constitutional right of that convict to appeal against his conviction on its merits. Tsatsu Tsikata, the Appellant, was found guilty of willfully causing financial loss to...