REPUBLIC v. CAPE COAST DISTRICT MAGISTRATE GRADE II; EX PARTE AMOO

The Court of Appeal, per Anin J.A. with concurrences by Apaloo C.J. and Annan J.A., allowed an appeal arising from a certiorari proceeding in which Edward Wiredu J. had quashed the Cape Coast District Court judgment in a dispute between K. A. Amoo and the University of Cape Coast over a ¢650 acting/responsibility allowance. The High Court viewed the Grade I court as incompetent because a lay Grade II magistrate, Mr. F. A. B. Haizel, presided while purporting to act as Grade I. The appellate court held the liquidated ¢650 claim fell within the concurrent civil jurisdiction of both District Court Grades I and II under the Courts Act, 1971, so the certiorari application based on want of jurisdiction was misconceived and refused. It further reasoned that while the purported acting Grade I appointment of a lay magistrate was invalid under the Judicial Service Act, his decision remained valid because he exercised Grade II jurisdiction, correctly signing as Grade II. The court affirmed the broad availability of certiorari over civil matters under Ghanaian common law and restored the magistrate’s proceedings and judgment.