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FRANCIS XAVIER SOSU v. THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL

2018

SUPREME COURT

GHANA

CORAM

  • APPAU, JSC SITTING AS A SINGLE JUDGE

Areas of Law

  • Civil Procedure
  • Constitutional Law
  • Administrative Law

AI Generated Summary

The Supreme Court of Ghana, per Y. Appau, JSC sitting as a single judge, granted special leave to appeal in a matter arising from disciplinary sanctions imposed on a lawyer by the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council. After pleading guilty, the lawyer received concurrent suspensions of one and three years. He filed notices of appeal within time but lodged them at the High Court registry, addressed to the Court of Appeal. A single justice of the Court of Appeal dismissed stay applications, and a reconsideration motion was also dismissed, relying on C.I. 19’s requirement that notices be filed in the “court below.” Appau JSC emphasized the Supreme Court’s unfettered special leave jurisdiction, the absence of authoritative guidance on whether the GLC’s Disciplinary Committee is a “court below” under C.I. 19, and public interest in clarifying the issue. Concluding that strict procedural arrangements should not override substantive appeal rights, the Court granted special leave.