JOSEPH BOAKYE DANQUAH v. PERSEUS MINING GHANA LTD

RULING

This ruling is in respect of an application to set aside the instant writ of summons and statement of claim and a further order to dismiss plaintiff’s case. The application is premised on Order 11 rule 18 (d) of the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (CI 47) and the inherent jurisdiction of the court.

Order 11 Rule 18 (1) (d) provides as follows:

“18. (1) The Court may at any stage of the proceedings order any pleading or anything in any pleading to be struck out on the grounds that (d) it is otherwise an abuse of the process of the Court and may order the action to be stayed or dismissed or judgment to be entered accordingly.”

The grounds of the Defendant/Applicant’s application are contained in the affidavit in support of the motion filed on 7/05/2018.

The Plaintiff/Respondent is opposed to the application and have demonstrated the grounds in the affidavit in opposition filed on 09/07/2018. Both counsel for the defendant/applicant and plaintiff/respondent also filed their statements of case on 25/06/2018 and 09/07/2018 respectively. The applicant’s case is that the respondent’s claim relates to mineral right compensation due him for disturbance of his right as a landowner. This claim is a fallout of the applicant’s mining activities. It is applicant’s case that the respondent failed to follow the laid down statutory procedures for resolving disputes of such nature before instituting the said action in the High Court. In his written submission, Counsel for the applicant cited sections 73 and 75 of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) and regulation 2(6) of Minerals and Mining (Compensation and Resettlement) Regulations, 2012 (LI 2175) and submitted that disputes and complaints such as that of the Plaintiff must first and foremost be submitted to the Minister responsible for Lands and Natural Resources for a determination to be made before the jurisdiction of the court can be invoked. That plaintiff/respondent’s failure to resort to the laid down statutory procedure is fatal to the writ of summons and statement of claim. Counsel cited cases including Boyefio v NTHC [1996-97]SCGLR 531 and Eugene Guddah and Anor v Goldfields (Ghana) Ltd [06/06/2005] Civil Appeal H1/66/2004 to buttress his point.

It is the position of the plaintiff/respondent that the application is misconceived and same must be dismissed. In sum, the plaintiff/respondent’s case is that since the dispute is about the defendant/applicant’s failure to pay the requi