[2021]DLCA10784 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%;tab-stops:56.25pt"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; color:#00B0F0">THE REPUBLIC<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%;tab-stops:56.25pt"><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%;tab-stops:56.25pt"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; color:#00B0F0">EMMANUEL SACKEY (REV.) & 5 ORS.<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%;tab-stops:56.25pt"><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">(RESPONDENTS/APPELLANTS)<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%;tab-stops:56.25pt"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; color:#00B0F0">EX-PARTE: 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%;tab-stops:56.25pt"><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">(APPLICANT/RESPONDENT)<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%;tab-stops:56.25pt"><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%;tab-stops:56.25pt;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. H1/200/2020 DATE: 27<sup>TH</sup> 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%;tab-stops:56.25pt"><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%;tab-stops:56.25pt"><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="text-align:center;line-height:115%; tab-stops:185.25pt;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="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 benefit of the draft judgment of my brother Philip Bright Mensah JA and I am in support of the reasoning and conclusion, however, I would like to discuss few matters in my own words. An appeal is a creature of statute and a person who files an appeal shall ensure that that person complies with the enactment creating the appeal together with the procedural laws of the court seised with appellate jurisdiction. Article 137 of the Constitution confers an appellate jurisdiction on the Court of Appeal to entertain appeals from the judgement of the High Court. Article 137 of the Constitution provides thus:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt;text-align:justify;line-height: 115%"><b><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">“(1) The Court of Appeal shall have jurisdiction throughout Ghana to hear and determine, subject to the provisions of this Constitution, appeals from a judgment, decree or order of the High Court and Regional Tribunals and such other appellate jurisdiction as may be conferred on it by this Constitution or any other law.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt;text-align:justify;line-height: 115%"><b><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">(2) Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, an appeal shall lie as of right from a judgment, decree or order of the High Court and a Regional Tribunal to the Court of Appeal.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></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">The constitutional provision above was restated verbatim by section 11 (1) & (2) of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459) and further conferred appellate jurisdiction on the Court of Appeal to entertain appeals from the Circuit Court in both interlocutory and final appeals. Interlocutory appeals are filed with the leave of the Circuit Court or with the leave of the Court of Appeal after the Circuit Court has refused to grant it.<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 Court of Appeal Rules, 1997 (C.I. 19) provides for time frame within which both final and interlocutory appeals from the High Court, Regional Tribunals and the Circuit Court to the Court of Appeal shall be filed and also addresses extension of time in final appeals to the Court of Appeal.<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">Rule 8 of the Court of Appeal Rules, C.I.19 provides for the contents of a notice of appeal duly filed within the time frame provided by Rule 9 of C.I.19. Rules 8 sub rules (4)-(7) of the Court of Appeal Rules provides thus:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt;text-align:justify;line-height: 115%"><b><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">“(4) Where the grounds of appeal allege misdirection or error of law, particulars of the misdirection or error shall be clearly stated.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt;text-align:justify;line-height: 115%"><b><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">(5) The grounds of appeal shall set out concisely and under distinct heads the grounds on which the appellant intends to rely at the hearing of the appeal without an argument or a narrative and shall be numbered consecutively.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt;text-align:justify;line-height: 115%"><b><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">(6) A ground which is vague or general in terms or which does not disclose a reasonable ground of appeal is not permitted, except the general ground that the judgment is against the weight of evidence.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt;text-align:justify;line-height: 115%"><b><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">(7) A ground of appeal or a part of the appeal which is not permitted under subrule (6) may be struck out by the Court of its own motion or an application by the respondent.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></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">The notice of appeal filed by the Respondents/Appellants who were convicted of contempt contains four grounds of appeal. The Applicant/Respondent has urged the Court to strike out grounds(a) (b) and (c) of the appeal as having being filed in clear violation of Rule 8 subrules (4) and (6) of the Court of Appeal Rules. The ground (b) of the appeal provides that the trial Court misdirected itself on what constitutes contempt. I find the ground of appeal vague and at the same time non-compliant with rule 8 subrule (4) of the Court of Appeal Rules, C.I. 19, that is, where an appellant who alleges an error of law or misdirection fails to provide the particulars of the error or misdirection and ground (b) of the appeal is not maintainable in law. The ground of appeal does not inform the Court either in tabulated form or description in the particulars of the misdirection being alleged and same is struck out.<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 Appellants in their ground (c) of the appeal alleged that the trial Court erred in convicting and sentencing the Appellants for contempt. The Appellants failed to provide for the particulars of the error committed by the trial Court to cloth this Court with jurisdiction to discuss and exercise its corrective powers over the ruling of the trial High Court properly pending before it on appeal. I further strike out ground (c) of the appeal for having being filed in clear violation of rule 8 subrule (4) of the Court of Appeal Rules, C.I. 19.<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 ground (a) of the appeal may be saved for determination as in substance suggests that the appeal is against the weight of evidence on record. This ground has been exhaustively discussed by my respected brother, Philip Bright Mensah JA, and I am satisfied that the Appellants woefully failed to demonstrate any error committed by the trial Court for this Court to correct same and further evaluate the evidence on record to arrive at a different conclusion. An appeal is by way of rehearing and this is provided by Rule 8 subrule (1) of the Court of Appeal Rules, C.I. 19. I have reheard the appeal and I am satisfied that no factual error was committed by the trial High Court for this Court to in