Bertha Aniagyei* PART I INTRODUCTION The Reality: Criminal Courts as Debt Collectors. As legal practitioners and scholars, it is important to recognize a pervasive and troubling practice that has seemingly established itself within the framework of our criminal justice system. This practice pertains to the tendency of courts, particularly lower courts that handle the majority […]
Her Honour Judge Sedinam Awo Kwadam (Mrs.)* 21st September, 2025. ABSTRACT This paper critically examines the Ghana Supreme Court’s 2017 decision in Banful & Another v Attorney-General & Another (“Guantanamo Judgment”), which invalidated an agreement for the resettlement of two former Guantanamo detainees due to non-ratification. The decision is critiqued as insular and
By Her Honour Judge Sedinam Awo Kwadam (Mrs.) 1st September, 2025. ABSTRACT The legal status of sex toys in Ghana remains unsettled, straddling the intersection of morality, obscenity, personal autonomy, and public order. While Ghana’s Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) criminalizes the sale or public exhibition of “obscene objects,” the absence of
INTRODUCTION Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo recently declared, amidst applause, that as long as she has something to do with it, she will not allow the “mass production” of lawyers in the country. She justified her call by referring to the model used by the medical profession and misconduct by some lawyers that could not
Kwaku Azar writes: The way forward for legal education reform Read More »
PIERCING THE JUDICIAL ROBE: THE ICC’S HISTORIC INDICTMENT OF THE TALIBAN CHIEF JUSTICE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR GLOBAL JUDICIAL ACCOUNTABILITY; AN EXPOSÉ AND CAUTION TO JUDICIAL ACTORS. Her Honour Judge Sedinam Awo Kwadam (Mrs.)* 29th July, 2025. This Paper is dedicated to Her Ladyship the Late Justice Rita Agyeman-Budu (Mrs.) J.* ABSTRACT This paper
A Legislative Reform Brief on Obsolete Offences and Inefficient Punishments in Act 29 Bertha Aniagyei Introduction The motivation for this brief reflection was prompted by the invocation of archaic laws by the current U.S. President, Donald Trump. Laws enacted as early as the 1800s, such as the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which had remained
Punishments This explainer discusses the judicial punishment of criminals under Ghanaian Criminal Law. Act 29: Criminal Offences Act of Ghana, 1960 Act 30: Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act of Ghana, 1960 Act 652: Juvenile Justice Act, 2003 Act 1034: Criminal Offences (Amendment) Act, 2020 Act 1101: Criminal Offences (Amendment) Act, 2023 Classes of Punishments
Ghanaian Legal System: Common Crimes and Their Penalties Read More »
By Goodnuff Appiah Larbi Legal Researcher Within the first five months of his second term, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama has elevated seven Justices of the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court of Ghana—a move that has drawn widespread commendation. Many observers have praised the appointments as a step toward strengthening the judiciary. Investigative
By Her Honour Judge Sedinam Awo Kwadam (Mrs.), Circuit Court 7, Accra, Ghana. 15th June, 2025. ABSTRACT The rule, nemo judex in causa sua (no one should be a judge in their own cause), stands as a foundational norm of natural justice, enshrined in both the common law tradition and Ghana’s constitutional framework. Despite its
It is trite law that jurisdiction is a fundamental threshold issue that determines the competence of a court to adjudicate a matter. Without jurisdiction, the court is precluded from proceeding on the merits of the case or making any enforceable orders. In the seminal case of Ghana Bar Association v Attorney-General (1995-1996) 1 GLR (Abban
The Civil Jurisdiction of the District Court Read More »
