REPUBLIC v. HIGH COURT, GENERAL JURISDICTION (6) ACCRA
July 31, 2019
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- ANSAH, JSC (PRESIDING)
- DOTSE, JSC
- YEBOAH, JSC
- MARFUL-SAU, JSC
- KOTEY, JSC
Areas of Law
- Administrative Law
- Constitutional Law
- Civil Procedure
July 31, 2019
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The Supreme Court of Ghana, per Marful-Sau JSC, entertained an application by the Attorney-General under its supervisory jurisdiction to quash a High Court order that had set aside a revocation letter issued by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources against Exton Cubic Group Limited’s three bauxite mining leases in Ashanti Region (Kyekyewere, Mpasaso, and Kyirayaso). The Court reviewed the lease acquisition process and found statutory breaches by the Minerals Commission, including offering leases and taking payment before ministerial recommendation, failure to meet section 13 notice and Gazette publication requirements, and alleged missing environmental permits. Crucially, the Court held that Article 268(1) requires Parliamentary ratification before any mining lease can be valid; absent ratification, no mining right exists. Because Exton Cubic had no mining right, the High Court’s certiorari protecting a non-existent right was a patent, fundamental error. The Supreme Court granted certiorari, quashing the High Court’s ruling, with all panel judges concurring.
MARFUL-SAU, JSC :- The applicant in this proceeding is praying for an order of certiorari directed at the High Court, General Jurisdiction (6), Accra presided over by His Lordship Ackaah – Boafo, J. to quash the ruling of that court dated the 8th of February 2018 in suit No. GJ/1424/17 entitled the Republic v. Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Exparte Exton Cubic Group Limited and the Attorney-General, Interested Party. In the said suit, the interested party herein had applied to the said High Court for certiorari to quash a letter written by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resource, dated 4th September, 2017, revoking the Mining Leases purportedly granted to the interested party. In its ruling dated the 8th of February 2018, the High Court found the Minister’s letter revoking the Mining Leases unlawful and for that reason quashed the letter by an order of certiorari. It is this order of the High Court that has become the subject of this application.
The brief facts of the case are that the interested party, Exton Cubic Limited, on the 29th October 2016 applied for Mining Leases in respect of three areas in the Ashanti Region; namely Kyekyewere- 56.64 sq km; Mpasaso- 22 sq.km; and Kyirayaso- 32.68 sq. km. It is the case of the applicant herein that these three Mining Leases constitute about seventy-nine percent (79%) of the nation’s known bauxite resources. The Minerals Commission on 10th November 2016 offered the Mining Leases to the interested party, who proceeded to pay for them on the 12th December 2016. The processes filed in this application, disclosed that no notification of the application by the interested party was published in the Gazette, to enable such Gazette exhibited at the offices of the District Assembly, which had jurisdiction over the area covering the three leases. The chief or allodial owner of the land was also not notified of the Interested Party’s application.
The processes filed further disclosed that the Minerals Commission made the offer to the interested party before forwarding its recommendations on the applications to the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, contrary to sections 12 and 13 of the Minerals and Mining Act, Act 703. It was also alleged that the interested party failed to obtain the requisite Forestry Commission and Environmental Protection Permits, before attempting to commence mining operations in the areas. Then on the 4th September 2017, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resource, wrote to r