GUINNESS GHANA BREWERIES LTD. VS M. A. LUCKY COMPANY & ANOTHER
2022
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- HER LADYSHIP AKUA SARPOMAA AMOAH J. (MRS.)
Areas of Law
- Civil Procedure
- Commercial Law
- Banking and Finance Law
2022
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
In the Ghana High Court, Her Ladyship Akua Sarpomaa Amoah J. (Mrs.) determined a post-judgment application by the judgment debtor seeking to set aside the creditors entry of judgment and to stay execution. The dispute centered on the interest rate used to compute the judgment debt under the Court (Award of Interest & Post Judgment Interest) Rules 2005 (CI 52), after the courts March 15, 2022 judgment had awarded interest at the prevailing bank rate. The debtor argued that ambiguity in CI 52 required defaulting to the 91-day Treasury bill rate per Rule 4(2), relying on Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority v Nova Complex and Daniel Ofori v Ecobank. The court rejected automatic resort to Rule 4(2), distinguished Daniel Ofori, and held that for a commercial transaction and funds withheld since 2014, the appropriate rate was the prevailing commercial bank lending rate. The court found the creditors use of average lending rates unobjectionable and dismissed the application.
The present Application filed by the Defendant/ Judgement Debtor seeks an order of this Court setting aside the Entry of Judgement filed by the Plaintiff/ Judgment-Creditor on the 5th of July 2022 and a further order staying execution until the determination of the Application.
According to Defendants, the rate of interest awarded by this Court in its judgment dated the 15th of March 2022 was the prevailing bank interest rate. This, according to them is the statutory rate within the meaning of the Court (Award of Interest & Post Judgement Interest) Rules 2005 (CI 52).
Defendants’ plaint however, is that the rate applied by the Plaintiff/Judgment-Creditor in its Entry of Judgement is contrary to the judgment pronounced by this Court and for this reason cannot form the basis for execution of the said judgment.
Now, as Defendants rightly points out, CI52 is the law that governs the award of interest by our Courts. I shall refer to the provisions I consider relevant to the present Application for their full force and effect.
“Rule 1- Order for payment of interest
If a Court in a civil cause or matter decides to make an order for the payment of interest on a sum of money due to a party in an action, the interest shall be calculated
a) at the bank rate prevailing at the time the order is made and
b) at simple interest
Rule 4 – Interpretation of statutory rate
4(1) In these rules statutory rate of interest is the bank rate prevailing at the time the judgment or order was made by the court
(2) Where there is doubt as to the prevailing bank rate, the 91 days treasury bill rate as determined by the bank of Ghana shall be the prevailing bank rate.”
Relying on the cases of Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority vs Nova Complex Limited [2010] SCGLR 1 and the more recent unreported case of Daniel Ofori vs Ecobank Ghana Limited & Ors Civil Motion No. J8/64/2019. Counsel for Defendants argues that the silence of the rules regarding whether the “prevailing bank rate” should be the prevailing lending rate or the prevailing borrowing rate creates an ambiguity which makes the 91 days Treasury Bill rate the applicable interest rate.
Now, the mere fact that Rule 1 does not specify whether it is the prevailing lending rate or the prevailing borrowing rate of interest which should apply does not necessarily create doubts that must compel the application of Rule 4(2) under every circumstance. To accept the Defendants’ argument will mean that the said provision should app