THE REPUBLIC v. DSP. GEORGE ASARE, EX PARTE: IBRAHIM JAJAH

APPLICATION FOR COMMITTAL

[1] Contempt of Court is the mechanism which the law provides for the protection of the authority of the court from improper interference. Contempt arises in many ways but includes a breach of a court order, an attempt to obstruct the administration of justice, a deliberate attack upon the integrity of a court or a judge that interferes with proceedings, or some other form of conduct not foreseeable. Contempt of court is part of a court's inherent jurisdiction and, as it is not precisely prescribed or enacted, should be exercised with scrupulous care and only when the circumstances are clear and beyond reasonable doubt.

[2] The power of the High Court to punish for contempt is provided in Articles 19(12) and 126 of the 1992 Republican Constitution of Ghana, and re-enacted in S 36 of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459) as amended; S10 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and Order 50 of the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (CI 47). Order 50 of CI 47 sets the parameters by which an Applicant may move the court for an order for an attachment for contempt of court.

[3] There is no codified legislation in Ghana that defines the act or omission that constitute the offence of contempt unlike the United Kingdom Contempt of Court Act [1]. Ghanaian courts therefore resort to case law to resolve any issue regarding contempt when confronted with one.

[4] A succinct and frequently quoted definition of contempt is found in R v SITO I; EX PARTE FORDJOUR [2], where the Supreme Court offered the following as constituting the offence of contempt:

a) there should have been a judgment or order which required the contemnor to do or abstain from doing something;

b) the contemnor knew what precisely he was expected to do or abstain from doing; and

c) that he failed to comply with the terms of that judgment or the order and that his disobedience was willful.

[5] Also, in IN RE: EFFIDUASE STOOL AFFAIRS (No.2); EX PARTE AMEYAW II (1998-1999) SCGLR 639 at 660 Justice Acquah (as he then was) offered the following definition of contempt. He opined that:

“In brief, contempt is constituted by any act or omission tending to obstruct or interfere with the orderly administration of justice, or to impair the dignity of the court or respect for its authority.”

[6] The most recent in the line of cases which deals with the definition of contempt of court in Ghana is the unreported decision of the Supreme Court titled THE REPUBLIC v.