BLUE SKY PRODUCTS GHANA LIMITED vs. ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND LANDS COMMISSION [2013]DLHC3469

Date	2013-11-07
Suit No.	SUIT NO. HRCM 304/12
Citation No.	[2013]DLHC3469

JUSTICE KOFI ESSEL MENSAH

EKOW DADSON FOR APPLICANT.

ELFREDA DENKYI FOR 1ST RESPONDENT.

POKU BOAH FOR 2ND RESPONDENT.

[2013]DLHC3469
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >BLUE SKY PRODUCTS GHANA LIMITED <o:p></o:p>vs.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND LANDS COMMISSION<o:p></o:p>[HIGH
COURT (HUMAN RIGHTS DIVISION), ACCRA]<o:p></o:p>SUIT NO. HRCM 304/12&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;DATE: 7TH NOVEMBER
2013 <o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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COUNSEL:&nbsp; EKOW DADSON FOR APPLICANT. <o:p></o:p>

ELFREDA
DENKYI FOR 1ST RESPONDENT. <o:p></o:p>

POKU
BOAH FOR 2ND RESPONDENT. <o:p></o:p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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border-bottom:1.5pt solid windowtext;mso-border-bottom-alt:1.5pt solid windowtext">CORAM:&nbsp; JUSTICE KOFI ESSEL MENSAH<o:p></o:p>

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;border:none;
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1.0pt;mso-padding-top-alt:0in">JUDGEMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>This is a human rights
action in which the applicant prays for the following reliefs: <o:p></o:p>“1. A declaration that the applicant
is a person at law and entitled to and has the right to own landed property or
interest in landed property as a Ghanaian legal person.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>2. A declaration that the applicant is
a person at law and entitled to and has the right to own landed property or
interest in landed property as a PERSON as enshrined in article 18 of the 1992
Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. <o:p></o:p>3. A declaration that pursuant to the
said right the applicant has the right or is entitled to purchase, obtain,
enjoy, maintain, transfer, mortgage, assign, convey, etc. interests in its
lands or interest in lands acquired in its name for the benefit of its business
objects.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>4. A declaration that the applicant is
by virtue of its regulation and incorporation entitled to mortgage, convey,
transfer, assign, lease, sublease etc. any or all of its interests held by it
in any landed property. <o:p></o:p>5. An order directed at all or
relevant administrative bodies or public officials or Lands Commission to
register or conclude the registration of all or any of the applicant’s
interests either for its benefits or for the benefit of its transferees,
assignees, leases etc.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>6. Any other orders as this court may
deem fit to make.” <o:p></o:p>The substance of the
action relates to the refusal by the Lands Commission to register and
authenticate lands purchased by the applicant and in which the applicant holds
a freehold interest. We shall know in due course why the 2nd respondent, the
Lands <o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>Commission, is unwilling
to register the freehold interest held by the applicant in those lands.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>The applicant is a limited
liability company duly incorporated and registered under the laws of the
Republic of Ghana. It is also registered as a free zone’s company. The company
is engaged in the business of agro processing and produces several varieties of
fruit products for sale both on the domestic and international markets.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>In order that it would
have constant and regular supply of raw materials to feed its production
plants, the company has purchased several acres of land at various locations in
the country to grow fruits. Some of the lands have been given out to out-grower
farmers for the cultivation of fruits. In times past, some of the lands have
been mortgaged to banks to secure loans to inject capital into the company.
Given the nature of its business, it is indubitable that land is one of its
critical assets. It is imperative, therefore, that all the lands belonging to
the applicant is registered and secured in accordance with the requirements of
law.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>The applicant is at a loss
why in recent times, the 2nd respondent has declined or refused to register its
freehold interest in lands lawfully acquired by it. The applicant contends
that, as a Ghanaian company, it is entitled to enjoy all the privileges and
rights bestowed on Ghanaians by the 1992 Constitution. Not only is the 2nd
respondent refusing to register the company’s freehold interest in lands, the
2nd respondent is threatening to convert freehold interest previously
registered by it into a leasehold of fifty (50) years. The applicant is unable
to comprehend this posturing by the 2nd respondent and thinks that the 2nd
respondent’s attitude towards it smacks of deliberate discrimination against
it. The applicant finds the conduct of the 2nd respondent unjustified and
wonder why, as a legal person and a Ghanaian for that matter, the 2nd
respondent is violating its inalienable right to own and enjoy its landed
property.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>The affidavits filed by
the respondents show that they do not dispute the applicant’s right to own and
enjoy its landed property, per se. They are also not opposed to the
registration of lands acquired by the applicant at all. However, the
respondents contend that the applicant is not a Ghanaian company in the real
sense, notwithstanding its incorporation, and cannot, therefore, by the laws of
the country, have an interest in land beyond fifty years duration. It is the
case of the respondents that the interest held by the applicant in its acquired
lands infringe article 266(1) of the 1992 Constitution which makes it unlawful
for non Ghanaians to have freehold interest in land.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>The respondents contend
that by reason of the interest the applicant has purportedly acquired in its
lands, it is engaged in the sale of land in contradiction to its core business.
Exhibits filed by respondents show that the applicant is conveying freehold
interest to the purchasers of its land. This, the respondents think is wrong
and unlawful and ought to be stopped. The stance taken by the respondents,
especially the 2nd respondent, is geared towards preventing breaches of the
constitutional provision. <o:p></o:p>The dispute between the
parties resolves itself into a single issue: whether the applicant, Blue Sky
Product Ghana Ltd., has a Ghanaian nationality. It should be easy for anybody
to answer this question at a glance. As the applicant contend, it is trite that
upon incorporation, a company assumes a legal personality of its own, separate
and distinct from its members. The company can acquire assets in its own name
and manage its affairs just like a natural person. The traditional rule is that
upon i</main>