LA DADEKOTOPON YOUTH ASSOCIATION v. NII KPOBI TETTEY TSURU III & ORS
2021
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- YEBOAH, CJ (PRESIDING)
- PWAMANG, JSC
- AMEGATCHER, JSC
- OWUSU (MS.), JSC
- AMADU, JSC
Areas of Law
- Civil Procedure
2021
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This interlocutory appeal arises from a procedural dispute over sequencing and discretion under Rule 20 of Ghana’s Court of Appeal Rules (C.I.19), as amended by C.I.21 and C.I.25. After the defendant’s Court of Appeal appeal from a High Court decision of 21 October 2014 was cited for non-compliance for failing to file written submissions within 21 days of Civil Form 6 notice, the registrar listed a summons to strike out and the defendant’s contemporaneous motion for extension. Over the plaintiff’s objection, the Court of Appeal heard and granted the extension with costs. On appeal, the plaintiff argued that the summons for non-compliance must be heard first and that hearing the extension application would “stultify” the sanction. The Supreme Court, per Pwamang JSC, held that the extension motion should be prioritized, grounded in the policy favoring adjudication on the merits and the modern, efficiency-oriented approach to procedural rules, and further found that the Court of Appeal exercised its discretion judicially. The appeal was dismissed.
PWAMANG JSC:-
It is provided under Rule 20 of the Court of Appeal Rules, 1997 (C.I.19) (as amended by C.I.21 and C.I.25) as follows;
20. Written submission
(1) An appellant shall within 21 days of being notified in Form 6 set out in Part I of the Schedule that the record is ready, or within such time as the Court may upon terms direct, file with the Registrar a written submission of his case based on the grounds of appeal set out in the notice of appeal and such other grounds of appeal as he may file.
(2) Where the appellant does not file the statement of his case in accordance with subrule (1), the Registrar shall certify the failure to the Court by a certificate as in Form 11A in Part I of the Schedule and the Court may upon that order the appeal to be struck out.
The defendant/appellant/applicant/respondent (the defendant) filed an appeal in the Court of Appeal against a decision of the High Court dated 21st October, 2014. When the record of the appeal was ready he was served with Civil Form 6 notifying him accordingly. However, he failed to file his written submissions within 21 days of the service on him of the Form 6 as required by the rule so the registrar issued a certificate of Non-Compliance under Rule 20(2) and listed the appeal upon a summons before the Court of Appeal for the court to decide whether to strike it out. About the same time, the defendant filed a motion under Rule 20(1) for extension of the 21 days for him to file his written submissions. The registrar listed the summons for non-compliance and the motion for extension of time before the same panel on the same day. The summons for non-compliance was called first and adjourned sine die on ground of non-service of an affidavit in opposition on the plaintiff/respondent/respondent/appellant (the plaintiff). After the summons was adjourned the application for extension of time was called but the plaintiff’s counsel objected to the court hearing the application arguing that it has to be adjourned to abide the decision of the court on the summons for non-compliance. The court overruled the objection, heard the application and granted defendant extended time to file his written submissions. Aggrieved by the decision of the Court of Appeal the plaintiff lodged the instant interlocutory appeal.
In its statement of case the plaintiff contends, that once a Certificate of Non-Compliance issued pursuant to Rule 20(2) of C.I.19 (as amended) comes to the attention of the Court of Appeal, th