KAKRABA AND ANOTHER vs. KANFA I

By the leave of this court, counsel for the respondent raised a preliminary objection to the presumed right of the appellants to be heard by this court to argue their appeal. Counsel argued that by virtue of section 2(3)(b) of the Courts (Amendment) Law, 1987 (P.N.D.C.L. 191), an amendment to the Courts Act, 1971 (Act 372), anybody who, like the appellants, had lost his case twice successively, cannot appeal as of right to the Court of Appeal but must obtain leave either from the court below or from the Court of Appeal itself within fourteen days from the date of judgment. Judgment of the High Court was given on 12 January 1988. The appellants lost their case in the district court and lost it again on appeal at the High Court but failed to obtain leave either from the High Court or from the Court of Appeal before filing their appeal to the Court of Appeal. As the appellants were in violation of section 2(3)(b) of P.N.D.C.L. 191 they were not properly before the court, and the appeal sh...