POKUA v. STATE INSURANCE CORPORATION

The question raised by this appeal is of obvious public importance affecting not only insurance companies but everybody else, whether as insured motorists or as the potential victims of motor accidents. Does our Motor Vehicles (Third Party Insurance) Act, 1958 [p.340] (No. 42 of 1958), hereinafter referred to as the Act, place any restrictions on the contractual freedom of insurance companies to issue third party policies subject to conditions which can result in avoiding liability to third parties injured as a result of the use of vehicles required to be covered by such insurance? More specifically, where a policy of third party motor insurance contains a suspensory condition rendering the policy inoperative whenever the insured vehicle is driven by someone other than the person named in the policy as the driver, is the insurer nevertheless rendered liable by the Act to a third party injured whilst the vehicle is being driven by someone other than the named driver? The facts of the case giving rise to this question are as follows:

(1) Facts and issues of the case

By a judgment of the Circuit Court, Kumasi, dated 13 July 1967 Adjoa Pokua, the appellant in this case, was awarded ¢2,400 with ¢200 costs against one C. Y. Bandoh in respect of personal injuries caused by the negligent driving of one Ibrahim Moshie, a driver then in charge of Bandoh's vehicle insured by the State Insurance Corporation, the respondents in this appeal.

Following this judgment the appellant instituted proceedings in the same court claiming that the respondents as insurers of the said vehicle in accordance with the provisions of the Act, were liable under section 10 thereof to satisfy the judgment thus obtained by her against Bandoh.

This action did not proceed to trial, and the only evidence additional to what may be gathered from the pleadings was documentary, consisting of the policy of third party insurance issued to Bandoh by the respondents which was marked exhibit B, the certificate of insurance relating to this policy marked exhibit A and the judgment in the case entitled, Adwoa Pokua v. C. Y. Bandoh by which the appellant was awarded the damages and costs mentioned above.

It is evident from these documents that the facts relied on by the parties for their main contentions in the pleadings are indisputable, notwithstanding the respondents' general traverse of the appellant's statement of claim. And this presumably explains why, upon the close of the pleadings and at t