REPUBLIC v. GHANA NATIONAL GAS COMPANY, EX PARTE: KINGS CITY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

PWAMANG JSC:-

My Lords, the kernel of this case is in a small compass and it is whether, on the facts, the procedure by which the applicant/respondent/respondent (applicant) sought redress from the High Court was appropriate and whether the Court of Appeal ought to have upheld the arguments of the 1st respondent/appellant/appellant (respondent) and allowed the appeal. Procedural law is a vitalintegral component of law as a whole. Its remit is theprescription of remedies, theregulation of the meansby which persons who are aggrieved may seek redress and the manner in which court proceedings are to be conducted. In respect of certain matters, legal remedies and procedure areprovided for insubstantive statuteor even ina constitutional text, for example,criminal offences and evidence. But, it is mostly by subsidiary legislation and the settled practices of the courts that the detailed rules of procedure for civil casesare provided for.As a majorraison d’etre of laws in any society is to ensure the orderly conduct of human affairs, judges have insistedperennially, that procedure rules must be observed strictly, except inspecial circumstances that are clearly stated. Consequently, the fact that a person has a claim which is judicially enforceable does not entitle her to walk into any court building or approach any judge and request for any form of remedy.

In the case of Republic v High Court, Koforidua; Ex parte Asare (Baba Jamal and Electoral Commission-Interested Parties) [2009] SCGLR 460,the 1stinterested party was the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate at the parliamentary election for Akwatia Constituency in 2008. At the close of voting,the Electoral Commission(EC) noticed some irregularities at six polling stations and decided to conduct a re-run at those polling stations but the interested party protested, claiming that the irregularitieswere widespread so the re-run ought to be conducted at all the polling stations. In order to stop the EC from doing the re-run at only six polling stations, the interested party filed a writ of summons in the High Court, Koforidua and obtained an order of injunction restraining the EC from conducting the re-run at the six polling stations. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, who appeared to be winning the election, applied to the High Court and was joined to the suit after which the interested party amended his writ of summons and claimed for a declaration that the elections were fraught wi