OKOFOH ESTATES LTD vs. MODERN SIGNS LTD AND ANOTHER [1996]DLSC587

Date	1996-07-23
Suit No.
Citation No.	[1996]DLSC587

AIKINS JSC

EDWARD WIREDU JSC

CHARLES HAYFRON-BENJAMIN JSC

AKUFFO JSC

ATUGUBA JSC

ZWENNES FOR THE PLAINTIFF-APPLICANT.

E D KOM (WITH HIM CATHERINE HODASI) FOR THE FIRST RESPONDENT.

EKOW AWOONOR (WITH HIM EUGENE GLOVER TAY) FOR THE SECOND RESPONDENT.

<p class="mb-5" id="contentDlCitation"  hidden>[1996]DLSC587</p>
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" ><span style="font-size: 18px !important;"><span style="font-size: 18px !important;"><span style="font-size: 18px !important;"><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-align: center; line-height: 115%; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;
mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;color:#00B0F0">OKOFOH ESTATES LTD</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-align: center; line-height: 115%; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;
mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;color:#00B0F0">vs.</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-align: center; line-height: 115%; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;
mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;color:#00B0F0">MODERN SIGNS LTD AND ANOTHER</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-align: center; line-height: 115%; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">[SUPREME COURT, ACCRA]</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

</div><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif">COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif">ZWENNES
FOR THE PLAINTIFF-APPLICANT.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif">E D
KOM (WITH HIM CATHERINE HODASI) FOR THE FIRST RESPONDENT.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:
solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">EKOW AWOONOR (WITH HIM EUGENE GLOVER
TAY) FOR THE SECOND RESPONDENT.<o:p></o:p></span></p>

</div><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif">CORAM:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:
solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">AIKINS, EDWARD WIREDU, CHARLES
HAYFRON-BENJAMIN, AKUFFO AND ATUGUBA JJSC<o:p></o:p></span></p>

</div><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;
mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 115%; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">Akuffo JSC delivered the first
ruling at the invitation of Aikins JSC. This is an application for an order
that:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 5pt 36pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 115%; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">“The proceedings and the ruling or judgment of the High Court of
justice per Essilfie-Bondzie JA sitting in the High Court, dated 1 February
1996 in suit No L 567/95 be brought up to this court for the purpose of being
quashed and that the same be quashed and further that this court do order that
the said action in the High Court suit No L 567/95 proceed to trial in the
normal course.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 115%; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">The grounds for the application are
set out in the applicant’s notice of motion and as additional grounds in
paragraph (4) of the applicant’s statement of case. In sum, the applicant is
challenging the validity of the judgment on the grounds of breach of the rules
of natural justice; lack of jurisdiction; and an apparent error of law on the
face of the record. The first respondent filed an affidavit in opposition to
the application, and, also, filed a notice of preliminary objection contending
that the application was not properly before the court on three grounds. The
first respondent also filed a statement of case in reply to that filed by the
applicant. The second respondent, who is a grantee of the first respondent,
entirely relied upon and adopted the affidavits and submissions made on behalf
of the first respondent. The application came on for hearing on 18 June 1996 at
which arguments for and against the preliminary legal objection were heard and
the objection was overruled for the reasons now stated herein.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 115%; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">The first ground for the objection
was that, since there is no suit pending in this court with the title “Okofoh
Estates Ltd v Modern Signs Ltd” in which an interlocutory application is being
made, the title of the application is wrong and should have read “Republic v
Additional High Court Judge; Ex parte Modern Signs Ltd.” In support of this,
counsel for the first respondent referred us to the case of Republic v
Owusu-Addo; Ex parte Agyemang, High Court, Kumasi, 24 October 1969, unreported;
digested in (1970) CC 10, and to Janet Daniels’ “Practitioners’ Guide to the
Effective Use of Ghana Law Reports” (1971) 3 RGL 5. In his counter-argument,
counsel for the applicant submitted that the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
is not predicated on the title of the suit nor can non-compliance with practice
notes be fatal to any cause or matter. Counsel for the applicant also submitted
that, in any event, since the Supreme Court Rules, 1970 (CI 13) make no
specific prescriptions on the procedure for certiorari or other prerogative
writs, there can be no justification for dismissing the application on such a
purely technical ground.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 115%; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif;">In Ex parte Agyeman (supra), Mensa
Boison J (as he then was) had held as stated in the headnote in respect of
title of applications for prerogative order:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 5pt 36pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 115%; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial;</main>