NSIAH v. ASARE & ORS

JUDGMENT OF OLLENNU J.

(His lordship stated the facts and history of the case, and proceeded;-)

Apart from the general legal right which any citizen has to assert his title to any land which he bona fide believes to be his property, there is a statutory right, given by the Public Lands Ordinance to anyone who claims to be entitled to compensation for land acquired for public purposes, to submit his claim to the Commissioner of Lands within three months of the service and publication of the notice of acquisition. This right is conferred by sections 6 and 7 of the Ordinance. It is not an actionable wrong in any person, therefore, that he should make a claim for compensation when another person who also claims to be entitled to compensation in respect of the same acquisition, also submits his claim as required by the Ordinance.

[p.19]

Indeed, section 8 of the Ordinance (with which I shall deal presently) anticipates that there may be more than one claimant, and makes provision for dealing with such a situation. Therefore, the plaintiff's writ disclosed no cause of action.

As has been often held, however, by this and higher Courts, in dealing with claims from Native Courts a Court must look at the whole proceedings to ascertain the real matter in dispute between the parties, and should not confine itself strictly to the writ filed in the Native Court. Upon examination of the writ of summons and the whole of the proceedings, what emerges as the plaintiff's real claim is one for a declaration that, as between him and the defendants, he is the person entitled to the compensation for the land acquired.

Learned Counsel for the appellants submitted that the proceedings before the Native Court in this suit, and the judgment therein, are null and void, as being without jurisdiction. I agree with that submission.

The Public Lands Ordinance provides that compensation should be paid to the owner in possession of the land at the date of its acquisition. Section 8 of the Ordinance vests jurisdiction to determine the amount of compensation, and the party or parties who, among rival claimants, is or are entitled to compensation, in a special type of Court, namely, "any of Her Majesty's Courts having jurisdiction to determine as to the ownership of such lands." What "Her Majesty's Courts are, is defined in the courts ordinance, and in the various Native Courts Ordinances. Native Courts are also defined in each of the said Ordinances. In my opinion, the term "Court,"