FRANCIS XAVIER SOSU v. THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL
2018
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- APPAU, JSC SITTING AS A SINGLE JUDGE
Areas of Law
- Administrative Law
- Civil Procedure
- Constitutional Law
2018
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The applicant, a lawyer, faced charges of grave misconduct and was sanctioned by the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council with suspension from practice. His appeals to the Court of Appeal were dismissed due to procedural errors in filing. He sought special leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, challenging the interpretation of procedural rules. The Supreme Court granted the application for special leave, questioning whether the Disciplinary Committee is considered a court under the relevant rules and acknowledging potential denial of justice due to procedural technicalities.
APPAU, JSC.:-
The applicant, who is a lawyer by profession, was charged under two counts of Grave Misconduct contrary to Rules 2(1) and 9(9) of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rules, 1969 [L.I.613] and Section 19(5) of the Legal Profession Act [Act 32] of 1961 before the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council. The applicant, who initially pleaded ‘Guilty with Explanation’ to the two charges, later changed his plea and pleaded ‘Guilty’ simpliciter to the two charges. The Committee convicted him on both counts on his own plea. Section 16(1) of Act 32 makes provision for sanctions that the Disciplinary Committee could mete out to lawyers charged before it on the offence of Grave Misconduct. It reads: “A lawyer, who is found guilty of grave misconduct in a professional respect, including a conduct which, in pursuance of the Rules, is treated as grave misconduct in a professional respect, is liable
(a) To have the name of that lawyer struck off the Roll of Lawyers, or
(b) To be prohibited from practicing as a lawyer for a period specified in the order of suspension”.
The Disciplinary Committee sanctioned him by imposing a concurrent sentence of one (1) year suspension from legal practice in respect of the first count and three (3) years suspension from legal practice in respect of the second count. This was on the 1st day of June 2017. Six days after the Disciplinary Committee had imposed its sanctions on the applicant; i.e. on the 7th of June 2017, the applicant filed two separate notices of appeal against the decision of the Committee before the Court of Appeal. The record before me shows that though the two appeals were intended to be filed at the Registry of the Court of Appeal, they were indeed filed at the Registry of the High Court (Human Rights Division), Accra. They were however headed: “IN THE COURT OF APPEAL, ACCRA” and addressed to “THE REGISTRAR, COURT OF APPEAL, ACCRA”.
On 13th June 2017; i.e. six (6) days after the filing of the two separate notices of appeal, the applicant filed at the Registry of the Court of Appeal two separate motions for stay of execution and/or suspension of the decision of the Disciplinary Committee pending the determination of his appeals before the court. The motions were placed before a single justice of the Court of Appeal per article 138 of the Constitution, 1992. The single justice consolidated the two applications and determined them in one ruling. He dismissed the app