FATTAL AND ANOTHER v. MINISTER FOR INTERNAL AFFAIRS AND ANOTHER

Mohamed Fouad Fattal and Mahmoud Fattal, Lebanese-born businessmen who had long resided in Ghana and naturalised as Ghanaians (1973 and 1976), were denaturalised by the Supreme Military Council via S.M.C.D. 172 on 1 August 1978, and deported the next day under Executive Instruments 144 and 145 issued by Commissioner B. S. K. Kwakye under the Aliens Act. In March 1980, they sued in the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction under article 2(1)(a), seeking declarations that the decree was ultra vires and inconsistent with the 1979 Constitution, that they remained citizens, and that “continued deportation” was unconstitutional. Writing for the majority, Archer J.S.C. held that under the 1972 Proclamation the military decrees had sovereign legislative force and prevailed over conflicting statutes; S.M.C.D. 172 validly amended the High Court’s denaturalisation jurisdiction and, although still on the books, is a spent law whose continued existence is not inconsistent with the 1979 Constitution, which is not retroactive. Sowah J.S.C. concurred. Taylor J.S.C. dissented, reasoning that article 1(2) made S.M.C.D. 172 void for conflicting with article 17(3). The court dismissed the action.