blog that gives one an update and summary about most Ghanaian laws and any pertinent issue in Ghana and in the world, in effect, all you need to know about the law is at juris. Juris is mainly into legal education. if ignorance of the law is no excuse why don't we educate ourselves about laws that concerns us.
Recently at a news conference, Mr. Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, the country's minister for local Government and Rural Development anounced that the government was going to place before Parliament for consideration, the appropriate legislative instrument for new districts yet to be created.
Overall, the districts to be created is a total of 42. it would be created accross the country. The government is said to have allocated GHc 40million for the new districts. Also 5 new districts have already been created.
Mr Ampofo during a durbar of chiefs of the Greater Accra Region in Dodowa is siaid to have stated that the creation is to be done after consultations with stakeholder.
The aim of the creation of the new districts is to ensure the effective management and development in the nation.
The breakdown of the distircts in all the ten regions of Ghana are.
Greater Accra.............five
Eastern.....................five
Brong Ahafo..............four
Volta.........................seven
Central Region........... two.
FROM A LEGAL VIEW
Article 45 of the 1992 Constitution of the
Republic of Ghana names the Electoral Commission as the final authority
in the demarcation of constituency boundaries.
Article 47 of the Constitution of the 1992 Constitution provides the
factors to be taken into account in the demarcation of constituency
boundaries. Article 47 (3) of the constitution states that “The boundaries of
each constituency shall be such that the number of inhabitants in the
constituency is, as nearly as possible, equal to the population quota”
to buttress his point. Article
47 (5) states that “The Electoral Commission shall review the
division of Ghana into constituencies at intervals of not less than
seven years, or within twelve months after the publication of the
enumeration figures after the holding of a census of the population of
Ghana, whichever is earlier, and may, as a result, alter the
constituencies.”
Article 48 of
the Constitution of the 1992 Constitution provides the procedure for
the resolution of grievances, which may arise out of the demarcation of
electoral boundaries.
These some relevant provisions in our constitution to take a look at. The key is to look at it from an objective point of view
The 1992 Constitution of Ghana is the supreme law of
the state. This means that no other law in Ghana would supersede this
document's authority and if any legislation is enacted that conflicts with the
constitution, that legislation would be declared, unconstitutional (Article
1(2)). It is a law of the people and for the people because unlike any of the
legislations in the country, there was a referendum by the people to accept it
into force. It is also from the constitution that the people gain the sword of
the ballot box through the universal adult suffrage to vote some officials like
the president to rule them.
The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana was
approved on 28 April 1992 through a national referendum
after 92% support and came into effect on January 7, 1993. It declares
Ghana to be a unitary republic with sovereignty residing in the Ghanaian
people. The preamble to the 1992 constitution of Ghana starts with the
following words: “IN THE NAME OF THE ALMIGHTY GOD WE THE PEOPLE OF GHANA…’. This
affirms and presupposes that the government exists to serve the people. Also
Article 1 provides that The Sovereignty of Ghana resides in the people of Ghana
in whose name and for whose welfare the powers of government are to be
exercised in the manner and within the limits laid down in this Constitution. Article
125(1)(3) of the 1992 Ghana Constitution states that “Justice emanates from the
people and shall be administered in the name of the Republic by the Judiciary
which shall be independent and subject only to this Constitution.
The document reflects the lessons drawn from the
abrogated constitutions of 1957, 1960, 1969, and 1979, and it incorporates
provisions and institutions drawn from British and United States constitutional
models and is keenly drawn with the intent of preventing another coup, dictatorial
government, and one party states, it is designed to foster tolerance and the
concept of power-sharing. It also defines the fundamental political principles,
establishing the structure, procedures, powers and duties of the government,
structure of the judiciary and legislature,
and spells out the fundamental rights and duties of citizen.
An important part of the constitution is the Preamble
which explains the purposes of the Constitution, and defines the powers of the
government as originating from the people. It states that:
IN
EXERCISE of our natural and inalienable right to establish a framework of
government which shall secure for ourselves and posterity the blessings of
liberty, equality of opportunity and prosperity;
IN A SPIRIT
of friendship and peace with all peoples of the world;
AND IN SOLEMN
declaration and affirmation of our commitment to;
Freedom, Justice, Probity and Accountability;
The Principle that all powers of Government spring
from the Sovereign Will of the People;
The Principle of Universal Adult Suffrage;
The Rule of Law;
The protection and preservation of Fundamental Human
Rights and Freedoms, Unity and Stability for our Nation;
DO HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO
OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.
The preamble is sometimes considered to
be the spirit of the constitution.
Another part of much
importance in the constitution is the Articles 1- 3. Article 1 talks about the supremacy
of the constitution and that, any legislation in conflict with the constitution
is deemed unconstitutional. It also talks about the sovereignty of the people
in the state. Article 2 gives a sort of right to bring before the Supreme Court
of Ghana, any enactment or provision in any enactment that is unconstitutional
or any act or omission by any person that is deemed to be unconstitutional.
Article 3 of the Constitution, places a duty on the people to o
defend this Constitution, and in particular, to resist any prison or group of
persons seeking to commit any of the treason or attempts a coup (b) to do all
in their power to restore this Constitution after it has been suspended,
overthrown, or abrogated. It seems to me that the constitution seems to support
civil disobedience and the phrase ‘all in their power’ could be seen as
sanctioning violence, because if all in my power includes taking my AK 47 and
recruiting people to resist the acts talked of in Article 3(3), isn’t it violence
and am I not within my right in the confines of the constitution?
Also another part to look at is 17(1) which reads, “All
persons shall be equal before the law.” The
exception to this provision is seen in Article 57 (2) which states that “The
President shall take precedence over all other persons in Ghana; and in
descending order, the Vice-President, the Speaker of Parliament and the Chief
Justice, shall take precedence over all other persons in Ghana.” Article 57(2)
seems somehow problematic, because it for instance, the president murders, is
he to go scot free. How about if there is a national emergency are they to see
to the safety of the president before that of women and children? If we are to
be equal, how come some people in the country are to take precedence of others.
Maybe in the latter scenario, the rationale would mean that in times of
national emergency, we would need someone to still take care of the
administration of the country and to avoid any conflict of who it should be the
sitting president , the vice president, speaker of parliament and chiefjustice safety should be assured before any
other to prevent any anarchy of any sort.
Article 19(2) of our
constitution provides to the effect that whenever a person is charged with an
offence the punishment of which is death or life imprisonment and the said
offence is neither high treason nor treason then such a person is to be tried
by a judge and jury. Ostensibly, this is to make sure that such a person is
tried by his/her peers with regards to the factual basis of his crime at least
to make sure in the minds of like-minded people that his actions presents the
actions of someone who deserves to be imprisoned for life or to suffer death. The
question one may ask is that, is the jury trial very efficient?
We also have the second
schedule of the constitution which provides for the oaths. An example is the
Oath of Allegiance.
THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE
I,.........................................................................................................do
(in the name of the Almighty God swear) (solemnly affirm) that I will bear true
faith and allegiance to the Republic of Ghana as by law established; that I
will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of Ghana; and that I will preserve,
protect and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. (So help me God).
To be sworn
before the President, the Chief Justice or such other person as the President
may designate.
THE
CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW.
The president of Ghana, His Excellency Prof. John Evans Atta Mills on the 11th
of January 2010, inaugurated a nine (9) member constitution Review commission
(CRC) The Constitution Review Commission (CRC) was set up by a Constitutional
Instrument 2010 (C.I.) 64 as a Commission of Inquiry to conduct a consultative
review of the operation of the 1992 Constitution. The
Commission would operate as a quasi-judicial body for 12 months and not more
than 18 months. It is under the chairmanship of Professor Albert Fiadjoe, an
Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of West Indies. One of its
functions includes the
making of recommendations to the government for consideration and providing a
draft Bill for possible amendment to the 1992 constitution.
·What is the significance of the colours
of the flag?
·Mention and explain two important
articles in the 1992 Constitution.
·What is the Constitution?
·Can the Constitution be changed?
·What do we call a change to the
Constitution?
·How many changes or amendments are
there to the Constitution?
·How many branches are there in our
government?
·What are the three branches of our
government?
·What is the legislative branch of our
government?
·Who is the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court?
·Who said,
·‘the independence of Ghana is
meaningless unless it is linked with the total liberation of Africa’
·"Common territory, language and culture
may in fact be present in a nation, but the existence of a nation does not
necessarily imply the presence of all three. Common territory and language
alone may form the basis of a nation. Similarly, common territory plus common
culture may be the basis. In some cases, only one of the three applies. A state
may exist on a multi-national basis. The community of economic life is the
major feature within a nation, and it is the economy which holds together the
people living in a territory. It is on this basis that the new Africans
recognise themselves as potentially one nation, whose domination is the entire
African continent."
·"In the very early days of the
Christian era, long before England had assumed any importance, long even before
her people had united into a nation, our ancestors had attained a great empire,
which lasted until the eleventh century, when it fell before the attacks of the
Moors of the North. At its height that empire stretched from Timbuktu to
Bamako, and even as far as to the Atlantic. It is said that lawyers and
scholars were much respected in that empire and that the inhabitants of Ghana
wore garments of wool, cotton, silk and velvet. There was trade in copper, gold
and textile fabrics, and jewels and weapons of gold and silver were
carried."
·"We shall measure our progress by
the improvement in the health of our people; by the number of children in
school, and by the quality of their education; by the availability of water and
electricity in our towns and villages, and by the happiness which our people
take in being able to manage their own affairs. The welfare of our people is
our chief pride, and it is by this that my Government will ask to be
judged."
·‘if you educate a man you educate a
person, if you educate a woman, you educate a whole nation.’
·‘We are not incapable of supporting our
own’
·‘Education, particularly higher
education, will take Africa into the mainstream of globalization.’
·‘Ours is not a poor country and even
though we are now a poor people, there should be no room for the despondency
that has settled on large sections of the population.’
·How many terms can the President
serve?
·According to the Constitution, a person
must meet certain requirements in order to be eligible to become President.
Name one of these requirements.
·Who selects the Supreme Court
justice?
·Who is the Commander in Chief of the
Ghana military?
A Tema-based legal
practitioner, Robert S. Blay, has been stabbed to death with broken bottle by unknown assailants Wednesday dawn, the police in
Tema confirmed. He is said to have bled profusely and
died shortly on arrival at the Tema General Hospital, community 12, Tema at the
hours of about 4am. The deceased lawyer, who was a lawyer with RS Blay
and Associates, was reportedly stabbed while in his
black VW Passat saloon car with registration GT 8111 Z. He is said to
have bled profusely and died shortly on arrival at the hospital. Inspector
Olivia Turkson, the Public Affairs Officer of the Tema Regional Police Command,
told DAILY GUIDE that a search in the deceased’s car revealed two take-away
packs of chips and chicken, with the driver’s seat in a relaxed position and
the broken ‘Stone Lager’ bottle in the front seat of the car.
The police say that
anybody with information about his death should inform them.
Protection of lawyers in Ghana
People in the world have come to see lawyers as
protectors of the people in trouble with the law. They are the upholders of
JUSTICE! In actual fact they are the armour bearers of the Law. The protect and
enforce the rights of people from every walks of life without any
discrimination or fear.
The question therefore is that, in the light of the
above incident, should lawyers be afforded any sought of protection in Ghana?
Or is the incidence an isolated one?
Lawyers have the right to be able to practice
their profession with full freedom and independence, protected from any
hindrance, intimidation, harassment or interference in their professional duties
but however this incidence could be an isolated one and may not even be as a
result of Mr. RS. Blay’s profession as a lawyer. He could have been attacked
for private reasons other than his being a lawyer or it could simple have been
a robbery gone wrong. But whatever the case may be, special protection of
lawyers should be something we must take a critical look at as a country. It
should also be an issue to be considered the world over. Thanks
May the soul of Robert S. Blay rest in perfect peace!
What is the legal
effect of coup d’etat on a legal system
Is the grundnorm of a country destroyed during a
coup?
This could be a well set examination question in jurisprudence
but had to be settled by Ghanaian Court in the highly celebrated case of E.K.
Sallah v AG . After the 1966 coup,the
National Liberation Council was formed togovern Ghana. The NLC suspended the 1960 constituition of Ghana under
which Kwame Nkrumah’s government operated. Sallah v AG discussed the legal
implications of this action.
For the ingenious jurisprudential submissions made on behalf
of the
Government, the Sallah, case may have just been another
straightforward case having constitutional
interpretation. But because of the Attorney General’s submissions, a
consideration of jurisprudential thought became necessary for the decision in
this case. Jurisprudes who might have hoped to find in the judgement of the
case profound analytical discourse on the legal effect of a coup d’etat in a
country’s legal system were somewhat disappointed because the majority of the
court found the Attorney General’s jurisprudential submissions irrelevant and misleading.
While the judgement of the dissenting
judge who accepted the Attorney- General’s argument was somewhat bereft of
any reference to jurisprudential and cannot be said to contain any sustained
jurisprudential discussion.
However the turn out of the case, ‘Jurisprudence’ had its
day in Ghanaian Court of Appeal Court which was sitting as a supreme court in
the particular case.
HANS KELSEN’S
LEGAL THEORY ON THE GRUNDNORM
Austrian jurist and philosopher of law. Kelsen is known for
the most rigorous development of a ‘positivist’ theory of law, i.e. one that
rigorously excludes from its analysis any ethical, political, or historical
considerations, and finds the essence of the legal order in the ‘black letter’
or laid-down law. A system of law is based on a Grundnorm or ground
rule, from which flows the validity of other statements of law in the system.
The ground rule might be that some particular dictates or propositions, such as
those of the sovereign, are to be obeyed. The Grundnorm can only be
changed by political revolution. The theory is best known in its development in
the Allgemeine Staatslehre (1925, trs. and revised as General Theory
of Law and State, 1945).
Kelsen's theory on the Grundnorm seeks to answer when and under what circumstances one
legal system ceases to exist and a new one is created in its place. Kelsen's
response is that the "State and its legal order remain the same only as
long as the constitution is intact or changed according to its own
provisions." (Kelsen 1961: 368-9) Kelsen holds that this "principle
of legitimacy . . . fails to hold in the case of a revolution," because
"it is never the constitution merely but always the entire legal order
that is changed by a revolution," with the result that all norms of the
old order are "deprived of their validity by revolution and not according
to the principle of legitimacy." (Id.: 117-8) In the wake of a coup
d'etat, "[e]very jurist will presume that the old order--to which no
political reality any longer corresponds--has ceased to be valid . . . . "
(Id.: 118) If the revolutionaries "succeed, if the old order ceases, and
the new order begins to be efficacious, because the individuals whose behavior
the new order regulates actually behave, by and large, in conformity with the
new order, then this order is considered as a valid order." (Id.) In his
"attempt to make explicit the presupposition on which these juristic
considerations rest," Kelsen finds that “the norms of the old order are
regarded as devoid of validity because the old constitution and, therefore, the
legal norms based on this constitution, the old legal order as a whole, has
lost its efficacy; because the actual behavior of men does no longer conform to
this old legal order. . . . The principle of legitimacy is restricted by the
principle of effectiveness.”(Id.: 118-9)
Kelsen's
theory assumes the identification of the state with the legal order, with their
foundations rooted in the constitution. As his theory rests upon the
"operative premise . . . that the positive and deliberate destruction of
the foundation of the legal order presumes the intention to found a new state,
a new sovereignty," (McIntosh : 5) it precludes any distinction between a
revolution and a coup d'etat. While he recognizes that coups d'etat do not
result in actual replacement of the legal system, and "only the
constitution and certain laws of paramount political significance" are
suppressed, while "[a] great part of the old legal order 'remains'
valid,"( Kelsen 1961: 368) he is constrained to treat their legal
implication as being the same as those of a revolution. This places his theory
out of step with the reality of coups in post-colonial societies that do not
aim at destruction of the entire legal order, but only at usurpation of
political offices.
The Attorney General in the Sallah case based his submissions on
Kelsen’s theory arguing that since the 1960 Constitution established theGNTC with its suspension, the Act that
established the GNTC should be deemed as having lapsed. It lost its validity
and only regained its validity from the proclamation of February 26, 1966.The arguments
of the Justices in the Sallah case may
have been influenced by the main drawback of the Kelsen theory which was its
capability of creating a legal vacuum in country where ther has been a coup
which was a legal consequences to be avoided.
You have made the best decision in coming to this blog. In world where the maxim Ignorantia juris non excusat or ignorantia legis neminem excusat (ignorance of the law is no excuse), one can not afford not to know certain very important laws that concerns him or her. No one can know every law in the world but they should at least know certain important ones especially those that concerns them in one way other eg. a pharmacist should know the laws regarding their profession in the particular country they are in or at least know where to find them.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse so it behooves one to exercise some due diligence to know the law and juris seeks to help you do that.
stick with juris and you would be safe!
