ASARE v. TEING AND ANOTHER
1960
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- OLLENNU J
Areas of Law
- Civil Procedure
- Property and Real Estate Law
1960
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The plaintiff sought damages for trespass and a declaration of ownership of land claimed to be gifted by her father under customary law. The court examined its jurisdiction under repealed statutes and the validity of the gift. It concluded that it retained jurisdiction and dismissed the appeal due to insufficient evidence of a valid customary gift.
JUDGMENT OF OLLENNU J.
The jurisdiction of the Land Court, a division of the High Court, both original and appellate, was given by section 24 subsection (1) of the Courts Ordinance, Cap. 4, which reads:
"24 (1) There shall be a Division of the High Court, to be known as the Lands Division, which shall within Ghana exercise jurisdiction in all causes and matters relating to the ownership, possession or occupation of lands, specifically assigned to the Lands Division by this or any other Ordinance."
The causes and matters assigned to it for the exercise of its original jurisdiction are set out in subsection (4) of the said section 24 which says:
“(4) Subject to the provisions of section 19 of this Ordinance a Land Court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction to hear and determine any cause or matter relating to ownership, possession or occupation of land …”
The said causes and matters are there set out.
Section 26 of the Ordinance shows that the "causes or matters” mentioned in section 24 (1) include original cases and matters and appeals, for it says:
“26. Any party who is aggrieved by a decision of the Land Court exercising its original or any appellate jurisdiction, may appeal to the Court of Appeal in like manner and subject to the like conditions as if the appeal were an appeal to the Court of Appeal from a Divisional Court."
One of the Ordinances which specially assign causes or matters relating to ownership, possession or occupation of land to the Land Court for the exercise of its appellate jurisdiction is the Native Courts Ordinance Cap. 98; another is the Local Courts Act now in force in this Region. The proviso to section 46, and section 47 of the Native Courts (Southern Ghana) Ordinance Cap. 98 are relevant in this connection. Section 47 of the Native Courts (Southern Ghana) Ordinance Cap. 98 provides that:
“Any party aggrieved by the decision or order of a Native Appeal Court or a grade A Native Court in a land cause in which the subject [p.157] matter of the cause is of the value of fifty pounds or upwards may appeal to the Land Court."
And section 49 subsection (2) of the Local Courts Act provides as follows:
“(2) Any party aggrieved by the decision of a Local Court in land and succession causes in which the subject matter exceeds the value of one hundred pounds may appeal to the District Court and further to the High Court of Justice and to the Court of Appeal."
It is true that by virtue of section 76, subsection (3) of the