THE REPUBLIC vs. THE HIGH COURT JUDGE , KUMASI AND BANK OF GHANA (INTERESTED PARTY) EX-PARTE:

THE REPUBLIC vs. THE HIGH COURT JUDGE , KUMASI AND BANK OF GHANA (INTERESTED PAR... [2014]DLSC5026

Date	2014-11-05
Suit No.	CIVIL MOTION No. J5/32/2014
Citation No.	[2014]DLSC5026

ATUGUBA J.S.C. (PRESIDING)

BAFFOE BONNIE J.S.C

AKOTO BAMFO J.S.C

BENIN J.S.C

AKAMBA J.S.C

HANSEN K. KODUAH ESQ. FOR THE APPLICANTS.

SAMUEL CODJOE ESQ. FOR THE INTERESTED PARTIES.

[2014]DLSC5026
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>THE HIGH COURT JUDGE , KUMASI<o:p></o:p>AND
BANK OF GHANA (INTERESTED PARTY) EX-PARTE: - REV.
ROCHER DE-GRAFT SEFA (APPLICANT)<o:p></o:p>[SUPREME
COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:
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padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">CIVIL MOTION&nbsp;&nbsp; No. J5/32/2014&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;5TH NOVEMBER 2014&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:<o:p></o:p>ATUGUBA J.S.C.
(PRESIDING), BAFFOE BONNIE J.S.C, AKOTO BAMFO J.S.C, BENIN J.S.C, AKAMBA
J.S.C&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;&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><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
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mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in">RULING<o:p></o:p>

</div>BENIN, JSC:-<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;The application before us raises a very small
issue which should not have travelled this far if the rules of this court had
been properly appreciated as we shall shortly demonstrate. The issue is whether
a party who has appealed to this court following a dismissal of his appeal by
the Court of Appeal should make an application for a stay of execution to the
High Court from which the case originally emanated.<o:p></o:p>The
facts are not in dispute. The plaintiff, applicant herein, obtained a default
judgment against the defendant Bank of Ghana, interested party herein. The
defendant applied to the High Court to set aside the default judgment but the
court refused the application. The defendant then appealed against the refusal
to set aside to the Court of Appeal. At the same time the defendant invoked the
supervisory jurisdiction of this court to vacate the default judgment dated 12th
July 2012. In a reasoned ruling delivered on 10th April 2013, this
court rejected the application for certiorari, but made an order staying
execution of the said judgment pending the hearing and determination of the
appeal then pending before the Court of Appeal.<o:p></o:p>The
present record shows that the Court of Appeal has since heard and dismissed the
appeal. Following the dismissal of the appeal the defendant went back to the
High Court and filed an application for a stay of execution and for an order to
set aside the default judgment. It is to prevent the High Court from hearing
the application that the plaintiff, applicant herein, has brought this
application invoking this court’s supervisory jurisdiction by way of an order
of prohibition against the High Court.The ground for the application is this:<o:p></o:p>‘The
High Court Judge is completely ‘functus
officio’….and therefore legally lacks jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 21 of
the Court of Appeal Rules, 1996 (C.I. 19) to entertain the Interested Party’s
repeated motion for stay of execution and for a further order setting aside the
substantive default judgment of the High Court dated the 16th day of
July 2012 when the Supreme Court…….had previously granted a stay of execution
of the same judgment of the High Court pending the final determination of the
Interested Party’s appeal at the Court of Appeal and the Court of Appeal had
heard the said appeal and had unanimously and finally dismissed the appeal upon
determination.’<o:p></o:p>The
issue of setting aside the default judgment has been dealt with by both the
High Court and the Court of Appeal and is on further appeal to this court. It
cannot therefore be re-opened by the High Court since it has become ‘functus officio’.<o:p></o:p>The
other issue is the stay of execution filed before the High Court. We fail to
appreciate the rule under which the application was made. The matter had gone
to the Court of Appeal and then to the Supreme Court.&nbsp; There is thus no rule of law or practice
which entitles the defendant to go and file an application for a stay of
execution at the High Court in respect of a matter which was on appeal to this
court.<o:p></o:p>Counsel
for the plaintiff cited rule 21 of C.I. 19 to support his argument that the
application should have been made to the Court of Appeal. The said rule 21 provides
that:<o:p></o:p>‘After an appeal has been entered and
until it has been disposed of, the Court shall be seised of the whole of the
proceedings as between the parties and every application shall be made to the
Court and not to the court below, but any application may be filed in the court
below for transmission to the Court’.<o:p></o:p>