[2021]DLCA10783 Login to Read Full Case <span style="font-size: 18px !important;"><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; color:#00B0F0">OSEI BONSU JOSEPH</span></b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;color:#00B0F0"><o:p></o:p></span></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%"><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">(PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; color:#00B0F0">GCB AND BANK OF GHANA<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%"><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">(DEFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">[COURT OF APPEAL, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; 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"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">SUIT NO. H1/76/2020 DATE: 27TH MAY, 2021<o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">CORAM: <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">ADJEI JA, MENSAH J.A, DODOO J.A<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="border-top-width: 1.5pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-left: none; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right: none; padding: 1pt 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%;tab-stops:170.25pt center 234.0pt; border:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:115%;tab-stops:170.25pt center 234.0pt"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:115%"><b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">ADJEI, J.A:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">I had the privilege of reading through the draft speech of my respected sister, Jennifer Amanda Dodoo, JA, and I have decided to write a concurrent judgment specifically on legal matters. I will not spend much time in discussing the facts as my sister has ably discussed them. The basis for the appeal was that the Appellant filed the suit in the trial High Court without observing the statutory ouster clause provided by section 141 of the Banks and Specialised Deposit- Taking Institutions Act, 2016 ( Act 930)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">The Plaintiff being dissatisfied with the decision taken by the 2nd Defendant/Respondent filed a suit in the High Court for a true and proper interpretation of section 123 of the Banks and Specialised Deposit- Taking Institutions Act, 2016 ( Act 930). The other five reliefs sought by the Appellant would be influenced by the outcome of the interpretation to be given to section 143 of Act 930 by the High Court. The 2nd Defendant entered conditional appearance and filed a motion to set aside the writ of summons and statement of claim within the time it was required to plead. The 1st Defendant on the other hand entered appearance and subsequently filed its statement of defence and therefore seemed to have submitted itself to the jurisdiction of the High Court.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">The thrust of the 2nd Defendant’s application to the trial High Court to strike out the action was premised on section 141 of Act 930 which makes it mandatory for a person aggrieved by the decision of the Bank of Ghana and official administrator to undergo arbitration.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">Sections 107 to 122 of Act 930 requires a person aggrieved by a decision of Bank of Ghana under any of those sections to resort to arbitration under the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, Act 798 instead of court. The grounds which require mandatory arbitration under sections 107 to 122 of the Act are: matters relating to the appointment of an official administrator by the Bank of Ghana; matters on the general powers of the official administrator appointed by the Bank of Ghana regarding the official administrator’s accounting role to the Bank of Ghana; matters regarding suspension <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">of dividends by the official administrator; moratorium imposed by the Bank of Ghana to suspend payments by a bank or specialised deposit-taking institution and its effect on proceedings; a right or obligation of a third party subsisting under any contract shall not be suspended on the appointment of official liquidator ; control to be exercised by official administrator over specialised deposit institution; preparation of inventory and plan of assets and liabilities of specialised deposit- taking institution after an official administrator has been appointed; capital increase by existing shareholders with the approval of Bank of Ghana pursuant to the plan and inventory prepared by the official administrator of a specialised deposit - taking institution; recapitalisation by new members; decision on mergers, sales and other restructurings by the official administrator with the approval of Bank of Ghana; mandatory restructuring liabilities; removal of directors and key management personnel by the official administrator with the approval of Bank of Ghana; the power of official administrator to deal with misconduct by significant shareholders, directors, key management personnel and others; matters relating to the expenses of the official administrator to be fixed by the Bank of Ghana to be paid by the institution concerned and ; termination of official administrator. A person aggrieved by the decision taken by the Bank of Ghana under sections 107 is mandatorily required to resort to arbitration under the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act 2010 (Act 798).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">The other areas of the Act which makes arbitration mandatory are matters under section 123 to 139 of the Act; where a registration of a financial holding company is withdrawn; any decision affecting the revocation of a licence granted to an institution; and; where the Bank of Ghana takes a decision under sections 102 to 106 of the Act that there is a serious risk to the financial stability of an institution or financial holding company.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">The Plaintiff filed the action to seek for a true and proper interpretation of section 123 of Banks and Specialised Deposit- Taking Institutions Act, Act 930 which is one of the provisions that section 141 of the Act mandates arbitration.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">The law is settled that ouster clauses exist in deeds and documents, statutes and national constitutions. Ouster clauses in deeds and documents entitle parties to oust the jurisdiction of the courts but cannot oust the entire jurisdictions of the courts. The parties may postpone the original jurisdiction of the court but cannot completely oust the original and the supervisory jurisdictions of the appropriate courts. Where an ouster clause in deeds and documents including those with arbitration clauses arbitration is side stepped, the defendant may enter appearance and apply to the court timeously to refer the action in accordance with the arbitration agreement or may waive it. Section 6 of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, Act 798 provides that where an application is made to the court to refer the matter to an arbitration in accordance with an arbitration agreement and it is granted, it automatically operates as stay of proceedings. On the other hand, where the defendant fails to file an application to make reference and file statement of defence, the court shall proceed with it unless that court makes reference under section 7 (5) of Act 798. Section 7 (5) of Act 798 provides thus:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:72.0pt;text-align:justify;line-height: 115%"><b><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">“Where in any action before a court the court realises that the action is the subject of an arbitration agreement, the court shall stay the proceedings and