GH - STANDARD BANK OFF SHORE TRUST v. NATIONAL INVESTMENT BANK

A. M. DORDZIE, J. A.:-

On the 21st of February 2013 the High Court Commercial Division gave judgment in favour of the respondent in this application against National Investment Bank the applicant herein. By the said judgment the respondent is to recover an amount of sixty million USD ($60million) from the applicant with interest at 11% per annum from 30th January 2009 till the date of final payment.

The applicant appealed against this judgment, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal on the 15th of October 2015 and affirmed the decision of the High Court.

The applicant had further appealed to the Supreme Court and has brought this application seeking an interim injunction order to restrain the respondent from enforcing or taking any step to enforce the judgment of the High Court.

Alternatively the applicant seeks an order suspending the operation of the entry of judgment filed by the respondent pending the determination of the appeal by the Supreme Court.

This application is brought under Rules 7 and 31 of the Court of Appeal Rules, 1997 C. I. 19.

Rule 7 gives this court the power to prescribe ‘such practice and procedure as in the opinion of the court the justice of the cause or matter requires’ in a situation where no provision is made by the Rules.

Rule 31 of C. I. 19 gives general powers to the court, and 31 (d) gives the court power to ‘make any interim order or grant any injunction which the court below is authorized to make or grant.’

The facts for and against the application are set out in the respective affidavits filed by the parties. Counsel for both parties filed their submissions as well and they are part of the record.

The respondent has raised preliminary objection to the hearing of the application by this court on the ground that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the application.

It is contended by the respondent that there is no appeal pending before this court. This contention is backed with the Supreme Court decision in the case of Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Ltd. v Western Hardwood Ltd. & Another [2009] SCGLR 196 which says that judgment of a lower court which has been affirmed on appeal remains the judgment of such lower court and not of the appellate court.

The respondent further submitted that the decision dismissing the appeal in this court is not executable therefore not subject to applications for stay of execution.

The applicant I believe is very much aware of the state of the law on non executable orders of t