HAUSA AND ANOTHER vs. DAWUDA

The action was commenced in the Accra West Local Court by writ issued on 3 October 1960. The plaintiffs claimed a statement of accounts of rents and mesne profits realised from house No. L.764/26 for a period of eighteen months ending in August 1960. One co-plaintiff was joined on the allegation that he was the representative of the KorleWe people who granted the land on which the building stood. During the proceedings, the defendant objected that the land and buildings forming the subject matter of the suit were worth about £G800 and therefore exceeded the Local Court’s jurisdiction in land causes. The plaintiff did not effectively dispute that valuation. The Local Court nevertheless overruled the objection, proceeded with the case, inspected the land, and entered judgment for the plaintiff. The High Court held that the subject matter was a land cause whose value exceeded the statutory limit and that the Local Court acted without jurisdiction. Portion of judgment: “The first ground of appeal argued in this court is that the local court had no jurisdiction in the suit since the subjectmatter was worth more than £G200...” and “The local court having acted without jurisdiction the proceedings before it and the judgment are a nullity.”