[1998]DLSC6125 • April 22, 1998 • Supreme Court •
ABEL EDUSEI vs. THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL & THE DIRECTOR, BUREAU OF NATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS (BNI)
The applicant, Abel Edusei, a Ghanaian citizen, had his passport withdrawn by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) following investigations into his activities. He was sent to the United States in an exchange for a person arrested there. Upon seeking to return to Ghana, he instructed his solicitors to request the return of his old passport to apply for a new one, but the authorities did not respond. He filed a writ invoking the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court seeking declarations that certain sections of the Passport and Travel Certificate Decree 1967 (NLCD 155) were unconstitutional and an order for the return of his passport.
read moreJOYCE BAMFORD-ADDO, J.S.C. This is an application the Applicant asking for a review of the decision of this Court dated 13th February 1996 which held that the court has no jurisdiction to hear the case brought before it in the above mentioned case. Since jurisdiction is a fundamental issue, the absence of which would render any decision of a Court null and void, it is of utmost importance for a Court to ensure that in any case brought before it, it has the requisite jurisdiction to hear and determine that case. Where there is lack of jurisdiction a Court ought to decline jurisdiction. In the same manner where a court has jurisdiction in any case is should accept jurisdiction and adjudicate on it. It would be wrong in a such case to decline jurisdiction, as this would result in injustice to an applicant and would constitute exceptional circumstance for which a review would be granted under Article 133 of the 1992 Constitution. The Plaintiff/Applicant by a writ and accompanying statem...