“If property is indeed a relationship of socially approved control over a valued resource, it has become quite clear that in the Britain of the 21st century, adverse possession of land is a form of control which is no longer socially approved.”[1] Introduction The crux of property law of almost every legal system is adverse possession,...
Tag: Justice Alexander Osei Tutu
Capacity: A Fundamental Concept Suffering From Conflicting Notions
Introduction In 2008, His Lordship Anin Yeboah J.A. (as he then was) in the case of The Republic v. The Arbitration Committee of Mampong Gyase Council, Ex parte Opanin Kofi Twumasi,[1] expressed his admiration for the state of the law on capacity and warned against introducing new vistas into the concept thus: [T]he issue of...
Making a Case for the Enforcement of Prenuptial Agreements in Ghana
Introduction In 2014, Citifmonline.com[i] reported a news item in which a family lawyer and former lecturer of the Ghana Law School, Dr. Kofi Adinkrah who incidentally happened to be my Family Law lecturer[ii], in a post captioned ‘Prenups don’t generate controversy’, urged “Ghanaian couples to enter into prenuptial agreements to tackle unforeseen challenges associated with...
A Message of Hope for the Year 2021
Introduction Year 2021 gives some glimpses of hope universally coming straight from 2020, a year that the world was wracked with the deadly Covid-19 Pandemic. God always uses His word to speak to us. Sometimes too, He uses human authorities and establishments around us to accomplish his purpose (Isaiah 45:1, Romans 13: 1-2). In Exodus...
A Ban on John Doe in Ghana: A Blessing or A Curse?
Introduction One person who has probably litigated more than any other person under the sun is ‘John Doe’. He is indubitably known to the laws of many countries, including civil law jurisdictions; albeit with different identities. Nonetheless, it appears that he has been banned from Ghana. Like the closure of our airports and borders for...
Is Akrong vrs. Bulley Still Good Law?
Introduction It is common knowledge that capacity is a fundamental legal principle in the commencement of any legal suit, the lack of which strips a plaintiff of his or her locus. For many years, the law as established in the case of Akrong & Another vrs. Bulley (infra) had been that a plaintiff who issued a...
Hayford Ofosu Amaning v. The Republic: A Case of Judicial Heterodoxy?
The Facts of the Case In the case of Hayford Ofosu Amaning v. The Republic[i], the High Court had tried summarily an accused person who was charged with robbery and attempted murder. The accused was convicted on both counts and sentenced to a term of twenty-five years. The sentences were to run concurrently. Consequently, the accused...
The Abandoned Jurisdiction of The Supreme Court
1.Introduction Perhaps, it may surprise you to know that a conviction by a lower court, not appealed against by the convicted person or his lawyer can find its way to the Supreme Court to be determined on appeal for the first time. Maybe, it might further surprise you to know that the President can ‘cede’ his...
The complexity of Succession in Some Ghanaian Communities & Historical Accounts
Introduction Succession is an integral part of customary law and since customary law is part of the laws of Ghana[i] and for that matter the Ghana Legal System; a clearer understanding of the subject of succession will no doubt be of great importance to the practitioners and students of the legal profession. Over the years, there...
The Chancellor & Equity – Epitome of Christ & the Grace
There is no profession that I know which perfectly illustrates Christ’s redemptive work better than the Legal Profession. In this article, we will look at the striking similarities and parallels that exist between Christ’s ministry and the legal profession. Maybe, you did not know that Christ was a ‘lawyer’ when he was on earth? He...