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May 8, 1961
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
This is an application for an order granting special leave to appeal out of time to this court against a ruling of the Brong-Ahafo South Local Court. The grounds for this application are fully set out in the accompanying affidavit sworn to by the plaintiff-applicant.
The defendant-respondent has by an affidavit challenged the facts relied on by the applicant and has further contended that "the Applicant failed to satisfy rule (sic) 180 of the Local Courts Procedure Regulations 19591; consequently in law he is not entitled to be granted leave to appeal out of time."
Thus a weighty and interesting issue is raised as to whether this court has power to extend the time within which to appeal from a decision of the local court. Although the affidavits do not disclose the value of the land both counsel agree that the land which was the subject-matter of the litigation exceeded £G100 in value.
The procedure governing appeals from the local courts is set out under Part XXV of the Local Courts Procedure Regulations 1959.2 Regulation 171 reads:
"Any person wishing to appeal from an order, decision or judgment of a Local Court shall file in such Court and lodge in the Appeal Court a Notice of Intention to Appeal and such notice shall be filed and lodged within one month of the date of the order, decision or judgment appealed against".
Owing to ill-health the applicant was unable to comply with regulation 171. There is no express provision either in the Local Courts Procedure Regulations, 1959, or in the Courts Act, 19603, by which the court is empowered to extend time within which to appeal from an order or decision of the local court.
It is, however, contended on behalf of the applicant that the power to extend time within which to appeal is conferred by regulation 180 (1) of the [p.219] Local Courts Procedure Regulations, 1959. In order to determine whether regulation 180 has conferred such power it is necessary in the first place to ascertain the intention of the legislature in this regard, and in this exercise it is legitimate to refer to other ordinances and regulations on this same subject, even though these have been repealed. Thus in Ex parte Copeland4 Knight Bruce, L. J., said: "Although it has been repealed, still upon a question of construction arising upon a subsequent statute on the same branch of the law, it may be legitimate to refer to the former Act."
Before the establishment of the local courts the law and procedure governing appeals affecti
AI Generated Summary
CRABBE J of the High Court considered an application by the plaintiff-applicant for special leave to appeal out of time against a ruling of the Brong-Ahafo South Local Court. The defendant-respondent opposed by affidavit, asserting non-compliance with regulation 180 and the one-month limit in regulation 171 of the Local Courts Procedure Regulations, 1959. The applicant attributed the delay to ill-health and argued that regulation 180(1) and section 35 of the Courts Act, 1960 permitted an extension. The court reviewed the appeals framework in Part XXV, the mandatory nature of regulation 171, and earlier Ashanti native court laws that had expressly allowed extensions, now omitted. Citing authorities including African Products Ltd v. Barrett, Appiah v. Senior Auditor, and WACA decisions on sections 78, CRABBE J held that regulation 180 concerns post-filing steps and section 35 cannot cure statutory omissions or extend initiation time. He further noted that if the order were interlocutory, section 129 barred an appeal. The application was dismissed for want of jurisdiction.