REPUBLIC v. HIGH COURT (COMMERCIAL DIVISION 6), ACCRA

The Supreme Court of Ghana, per Dotse, JSC, dismissed Nowfill Solomon Laba’s applications for certiorari and prohibition arising from interlocutory orders made by the High Court (Commercial Division 6). Laba, a co-founder and managing director of Latex Foam Rubber Products Limited, sought to quash a 27 June 2018 order appointing two representatives to supervise the General Manager and striking out his interlocutory injunction application, and a 2 November 2018 ruling refusing stay pending appeal. The Court held the applications were timely because the operative grounds first arose upon the later ruling. On certiorari, it found no want or excess of jurisdiction since the appointments stemmed from party nominations and emphasized that alleged non-patent errors should be addressed by appeal. On prohibition, the Court found no evidence of actual or apparent bias, though it allowed the trial judge the option to recuse. The Court admonished counsel regarding ex-parte communications and urged the parties to pursue settlement.