REPUBLIC vs. HIGH COURT, KUMASI; EX PARTE ACKAAH

JUDGMENT OF AMUA-SEKYI JSC Delivered the judgment of the court. In the colonial period and the years immediately after independence, our court structure was governed by the Courts Ordinance, Cap 4 (1951 Rev), section 22(1) of which gave the Chief Justice power to form territorial judicial divisions in the High Court. It reads: “22. (1) For the purposes of the administration of justice, the Chief Justice, with the approval of the Governor, may by order under his hand provide for the formation of Judicial Divisions . . . and from time to time may in like manner amend, vary, alter or revoke any such order.” It was further explained in section 22 (2) of Cap 4 that the judicial divisions were to be separate and distinct from any districts formed by the Governor for administrative purposes and did not need to conform with the boundaries or descriptions of such districts. As to the dispatch of business in the judicial divisions so created, section 23(1) of Cap 4 provided as follo...