GOLDEN BEACH HOTELS (GH) LTD vs. PACKPLUS INTERNATIONAL LTD [2012]DLSC2663

Date	2012-02-07
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO. J8/23/2012
Citation No.	[2012]DLSC2663

AKUFFO (MS) JSC (PRESIDING)

DATE-BAH JSC

ANSAH JSC

BONNIE JSC

AKOTO-BAMFO (MRS) JSC

THADEUS SORY APPEARS FOR THE APPLICANTS

SAMMY ADDO APPEARS FOR THE RESPONDENT

[2012]DLSC2663
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >GOLDEN BEACH HOTELS (GH)
LTD<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>PACKPLUS INTERNATIONAL
LTD<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;[SUPREME COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

CIVIL APPEAL NO. J8/23/2012&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;DATE: 7TH
FEBRUARY, 2012<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>THADEUS SORY APPEARS FOR
THE APPLICANTS <o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

SAMMY
ADDO APPEARS FOR THE RESPONDENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM: <o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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AKUFFO (MS) JSC (PRESIDING), DATE-BAH JSC, ANSAH
JSC, BONNIE JSC,AKOTO-BAMFO (MRS) JSC <o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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JUDGEMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>DR DATE-BAH JSC:<o:p></o:p>This is an application for an order from this
Court suspending an order of the Court of Appeal made on 14th
December 2011 or, in the alternative, an order staying execution of the
proceedings&nbsp; consequent upon that order
which refused the Applicant’s application for stay of execution.&nbsp; The application is patently made in order to
circumvent the received learning that this and other courts will not grant a
stay of execution of orders that are not executable.&nbsp; The application relies principally on two
authorities:&nbsp; Merchant Bank Ghana Ltd. V Similar Ways Ltd., an unreported
decision of this court dated 29th March 2011 (Civil Motion
J8/38/2011} and Standard Chartered Bank
(Ghana) Ltd. V Western Hardwood Ltd. &amp; Another&nbsp; [2009] SCGLR 196.<o:p></o:p>In the Merchant
Bank case, the High Court had delivered a judgment when one party had not
been served with any hearing notice for the day of judgment.&nbsp; That party had applied to set aside the
delivery of the judgment.&nbsp; That
application was dismissed.&nbsp; It appealed
against this dismissal and in the meantime applied unsuccessfully to the High
Court and the Court of Appeal for an interim injunction to restrain the
execution of the judgment.&nbsp; It next
applied to the Supreme Court for this relief of an interim injunction.&nbsp; In response to that application, our brother
Atuguba JSC said:<o:p></o:p>“All along, it is obvious that its
applications and appeals do not relate to any executable order.&nbsp; That however does not mean that it has no
interest in holding off the enforcement of the substantive judgment to which
its processes relate.<o:p></o:p>If a stay of execution cannot lie other
remedies may lie.&nbsp; One of such remedies
can be the suspension of the entry of judgment.&nbsp;
In that event the effect of the judgment itself is temporarily frozen
and incidental processes such as execution can’t fly not because execution
thereof is stayed but that the life of the judgment itself is in coma.&nbsp; This measure will prevent the eventual
success of the applicant’s appeal being rendered nugatory.<o:p></o:p>This measure will protect the applicant from
being injured by the prima facie default of the trial court having delivered
its judgment without notice to the applicant, pending the determination of its
appeals.”<o:p></o:p>In the Standard
Chartered case, Atuguba JSC, delivering the ruling of the Court, considered
the effect of Rule 20 of the Supreme Court Rules, 1996, CI 16.He stated (at p.
200) that:<o:p></o:p>“…this court can, in an appropriate case,
grant a “stay of proceedings under the judgment or decision appealed against,”
under rule 20(1) of the Supreme Court Rules, 1996 (CI 16), and not only in
respect of execution process.&nbsp; … In this
regard we would, in this modern era of functional or purposive justice
liberally interpret the word “proceedings” in rule 20(1) as referring to any
steps that are required or are necessitated, and not merely occasioned, by the
judgment appealed from.”<o:p></o:p>The rule 20(1) referred to by Atuguba JSC
reads as follows:<o:p></o:p>“A civil appeal shall not operate as a stay of
execution or of proceedings under the judgment or decision appealed against
except in so far as the Court or the Court below may otherwise order.”<o:p></o:p>