THE REPUBLIC v, JOHN KINGSLEY ARTHUR AND ANOTHER NANA AMAKYE II EX PARTE NANA KWAMENA AKUNTAN II (CHIEF OF DWOMO)
2024
Areas of Law
- Administrative Law
- Civil Procedure
2024
AI Generated Summary
The case concerns a motion to set aside an application for contempt on the grounds that it was filed by a lawyer without a valid solicitor's license, as mandated by Section 8(1) of the Legal Profession Act, 1960 (Act 32). Due to system failures of the GBA Portal, the lawyer could not renew his license on time, leading to the application being filed with an expired license number. The court held that the application was null and void due to noncompliance with statutory requirements, and emphasized that technological failures do not excuse such noncompliance. The court suggested that legislative amendments are needed to address issues arising from administrative delays in the license renewal process.
The law relating to Solicitor’s License
Section 2 of the Legal Profession Act, 1960 (Act 32) states as follows: Status of Lawyers
A person whose name is entered on the Roll kept under section 6
(a) is entitled, subject to Section 8, to practice as a lawyer, whether as a barrister or solicitor or both, the fees, charges and disbursement for services rendered as a lawyer, and
(b) is an officer of the Courts, and
(c) is subject, when acting as a lawyer, to the liabilities that attach by law to a Solicitor.
Section 8 (1) of Act 32 also provides as follows:
A person other than the Attorney-General, or an officer of the Attorney General’s department, shall not practice as a Solicitor unless that person has in respect of that practice a valid annual Solicitor’s license issued by the Council duly stamped and in the form set out in the second schedule.
The Legal Profession Act was enacted to consolidate and amend the laws relating to the legal profession. It makes provision for the qualification of a lawyer and the license required to practice law. By the combined effect of sections 2 and 8 (1) of Act 32, a person other than the Attorney-General or his representative shall not practice as a Solicitor unless that person has a valid annual solicitors license issued by the General Legal Council.
In the case of Henry Nuertey Korboe v Francis Amosa, Suit No. J4/56/2014, Supreme Court, Accra 21/04/2016, the Supreme Court by a majority decision affirmed its earlier ruling in Republic v High Court, Accra; Ex Parte Teriwajah and Henry Nuertey Korboe (Reiss & Co. Ghana Limited)
(Interested Party) Suit No. J4/24/2013 (dated 27th April, 2016) which also bordered on section 8(1) of the Legal Profession Act, 1960 (Act 32). By that majority decision, a solicitor who is not qualified to practice within a time frame is prohibited by section 8 of Act 32 to practice, and any process filed without a license should not be given any effect in law.
The Application
In this motion on notice, counsel for the Respondents to the pending contempt application (Applicants to the instant application) is praying the court for an order to set aside the contempt application dated 9th January, 2024.
The basis of the application is that the application for contempt is incurably defective as same is laden with breaches of statute and procedural irregularities. It is Respondents’ case that contrary to statute specifically Section 8 (1) of Act 32 and judicial decisions of the Supreme Court,