ON AN APPEAL FROM THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE, GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL ACCRA BETWEEN: SAMUEL VICTOR KORANTENG (APPELLANT/RESPONDENT) vs. DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE/ GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL (RESPONDENT/APPLICANT) [2019]DLCA7786

ON AN APPEAL FROM THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE, GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL ACCRA BETWEE... [2019]DLCA7786

Date	2019-01-16
Suit No.	SUIT NO H3/222/2017
Citation No.	[2019]DLCA7786

ADJEI J.A

AVRIL J.A

TORKONOO J.A

[2019]DLCA7786
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >ON AN APPEAL
FROM THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE, GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL<o:p></o:p>ACCRA<o:p></o:p>BETWEEN:<o:p></o:p>SAMUEL VICTOR KORANTENG<o:p></o:p>(APPELLANT/RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p>DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE/ GENERAL LEGAL
COUNCIL<o:p></o:p>(RESPONDENT/APPLICANT)<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>[COURT
OF APPEAL, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

SUIT
NO H3/222/2017&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;DATE: 16TH
JANUARY, 2019<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;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

ADJEI
J.A, AVRIL J.A, TORKONOO J.A<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;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-align:center;
line-height:115%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">RULING<o:p></o:p>

</div>ADJEI,J.A:<o:p></o:p>The
attention of the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council was called
to a publication made by the Law Gazette, a London based newspaper, dated 24th
February, 2011 which stated that the name of Samuel Victor Koranteng had been
struck off from the Roll of Solicitors practicing in England and Wales. The
Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council wrote to the said Samuel
Victor Koranteng to offer an explanation to the findings made against him as a
result of which his name was struck off the Roll of Solicitors practicing in
England and Wales. He offered a detailed explanation as to his&nbsp;&nbsp; conviction and further indicated that he had
appealed against the decision of the&nbsp;
Tribunal&nbsp; in&nbsp; England and Wales to the Administrative Court
of the Royal Courts of Justice.<o:p></o:p>In
this ruling, Samuel Victor Koranteng will be referred to as “the Respondent”
and the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council as “the Applicant”.<o:p></o:p>The
Respondent’s name was struck off from the Roll of Lawyers in Ghana after the
Disciplinary Committee on the conclusion&nbsp;
of its inquiry into the conduct of the Respondent directed so.&nbsp; The Respondent, dissatisfied with the
conclusion arrived at by the Disciplinary Committee on 28th July,
2011, filed an appeal against the decision on 3rd August, 2011 at
the&nbsp; Registry of the Court of Appeal,
Accra. It is the forum in which Notice of Appeal was filed which has brought
about this application.<o:p></o:p>On
1st June, 2017, the Applicant filed this application inviting this
Court to strike out the Respondent’s&nbsp;&nbsp;
appeal as incompetent. The thrust of the Applicant’s application is
contained in&nbsp; paragraph&nbsp; 9 of the&nbsp;
supporting affidavit to the application. It states thus:<o:p></o:p>“I am advised and verily believe same to be true that the
Appellant’s Notice&nbsp; of Appeal is
incompetent in so far as the Notice of Appeal herein was&nbsp; filed in the&nbsp;
Registry of the&nbsp; Court of Appeal
and not the Lower Court, as required by this Court. Consequently, there is no
valid or&nbsp; subsisting appeal before&nbsp; this court&nbsp;
for it&nbsp;&nbsp; to&nbsp; exercise any&nbsp;
jurisdiction in this matter”.<o:p></o:p>The
Applicant does not challenge the validity of the appeal with&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; respect to the time frame within which&nbsp; the Notice of Appeal was filed. The
Applicant’s application only attacks the forum in which the Notice of Appeal was
filed. Section 21 of the Legal Profession Act, 1960 (Act 32)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; regulates appeals against decisions
emanating from the inquiries made by the Disciplinary Committee of the General
Legal Council. It provides thus:<o:p></o:p>“Where
the disciplinary committee on the conclusion of an inquiry into a disciplinary
case directs the taking of disciplinary measures or postpones its decision
under section 20, the lawyer into whose conduct the inquiry was made or the
complaint may, within twenty-one days from the date on which the decision of
the disciplinary committee is communicated by the committee, appeal to the
Court of Appeal, <o:p></o:p>(a) on a question of law, or <o:p></o:p>