EMMANUEL K. OWUSU AMOAH AND 6 OTHERS VS GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL & ORS
2019
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- HER LADYSHIP, JUSTICE GIFTY AGYEI ADDO
Areas of Law
- Civil Procedure
- Constitutional Law
- Human rights Law
2019
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
On 13 June 2019, several Ghana School of Law candidates dissatisfied with delayed remarking outcomes and hurried scheduling of supplementary examinations sued by writ in the Accra High Court against institutional authorities, seeking constitutional and administrative law declarations, orders extending registration deadlines, and rescheduling examinations, plus costs. They simultaneously moved for an interlocutory injunction. Justice Gifty Agyei Addo identified the suit as a human rights matter and, before reaching the injunctions merits, addressed whether the Courts jurisdiction was properly invoked. Citing Article 33(1) of the 1992 Constitution and Order 67 of C.I. 47, the Court held that enforcement of fundamental rights must be commenced by application on motion supported by affidavit, not by writ of summons. Reinforced by Boyefio v NTHC, Ex parte Perko II, and Awuni v WAEC, the Court concluded the originating process was fatally defective. The substantive action was dismissed, and the interlocutory application fell with it. No order as to costs was made.
On 13th June, 2019, the Plaintiffs/Applicants (hereinafter called the Plaintiffs) caused a writ of summons to be issued against the Defendants/Respondents (hereinafter called the Defendants) for the following reliefs: a. A declaration that the release of results from Plaintiffs remarking application twelve (12) weeks after the application was made is contrary to section 41 of the student‟s handbook of the Ghana School of Law dated 24th October, 2018. b. A declaration that the notice directing Plaintiffs to register for supplementary exams within a three day period after the release of remarking results is in the circumstance unfair, unreasonable, an abuse of discretion and in contravention of Article 23 of the 1992 Constitution and the Wednesbury principle of reasonableness.
c. A declaration that the commencement of exams ten days after the release of Plaintiffs‟ Remarking results is unfair, unreasonable, an abuse of discretion and in contravention of Article 23 of the 1992 constitution.
d. An order directed at Defendants to reasonably extend the period for registration to enable Plaintiffs register for their supplementary papers.
e. An order directed at Defendants to organize the exams for repeating students in two months to afford Plaintiffs the time which Plaintiffs would have been entitled to had the results been released within five weeks.
f. Costs inclusive of legal fees.
g. Other reliefs as the Court may deem meet.
I have taken pains to set out in full the reliefs being sought by the Plaintiffs in this honourable Court.
As can be clearly gleaned, the Plaintiffs‟ plaint is in relation to violations of their human rights, yet the Plaintiffs decided to issue a writ of summons.
It is to be noted that whilst the High Court, per Article 140 (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, 1992, has jurisdiction, subject to the very provisions of the Constitution, in all matters and in particular civil and criminal matters, this jurisdiction may be taken away where there is found a procedural misstep in the invocation of the Court‟s jurisdiction.
I shall shortly revert to this.
Subsequent to issuing the writ and statement of claim, the Plaintiffs brought an application on that self-same, 13th June, 2019, praying for an Order of interlocutory injunction.
The motion is supported by an affidavit with exhibits attached, as well as a statement of case.
The Plaintiffs also on 17th June, 2019, filed a supplementary affidavit in support of their appli