JUDGEMENT OF EDUSEI J.
This is an appeal against the judgment of the District Court Grade II, Bibiani, presided over by his worship Mr. G. K. Quaye, district magistrate grade II.
The defendant's case was that the plaintiff's son, John Addae, had sexual intercourse with the defendant's sister, and a child was born. The plaintiff's son, by a letter addressed to his father, denied responsibility for the pregnancy, for he said he could not be the father of the child having regard to the time he had sexual intercourse with the sister of the defendant.
The defendant referred the matter to an arbitration at which the plaintiff's first witness, Nana Adomako Ansah, was the president. There were six other members of the arbitration. The subject-matter of the arbitration was that the defendant was claiming certain sums of money from the plaintiff because his son John Addae had put the defendant's sister in a family way. The arbitrators went into the matter and decided against the defendant and asked him to pay N¢20.10 to the plaintiff which in the nature of things amounted to costs of the arbitration proceedings.
The plaintiff instituted this action to claim this amount, and at the trial both parties were represented by counsel. It turned out that the whole issue depended on whether there was an arbitration or negotiations for a settlement. The trial court decided that there was an arbitration but went on to say that the arbitrators' decision was not based on the merits of the case and therefore it was not an arbitration and he proceeded to set it aside.
The evidence which the trial magistrate accepted shows that both parties gave evidence and called witnesses in support of their respective claims before the arbitration. This is what the magistrate said: "From the evidence of the plaintiff's first witness and what I have on record I have come to the conclusion that the proceedings were an arbitration and not a negotiation for a settlement." It does seem that the magistrate later on in his judgment proceeded to say that the decision was not based on the merits and therefore no arbitration took place. It is clear from his judgment that he did not consider the reasons given by the arbitrators as legally sound for their decision; the reasons being that:
(a) both parties were living in the same village and yet when the defendant's sister gave birth to a child the plaintiff was not informed for some eight months after the event by the defendant; and
[p.290]
(b) t
