THE REPUBLIC VS HAIFA KYRIAKOS LABA & ORS

The Ghana High Court, per Her Ladyship Justice Gifty Agyei Addo, addressed preliminary objections arising within a contempt proceeding initiated on 11 July 2018 by an Applicant who alleged the Respondents breached a restraining order by convening a meeting. The Respondents moved to strike out the committal application and filed a supplementary affidavit without leave, prompting the Applicant’s objections: procedural irregularity of the supplementary affidavit, irrelevance of perjury allegations embedded in the strike-out motion, and lack of authority to refer counsel to the General Legal Council. The Court adopted the supplementary affidavit as a mere irregularity under Orders 81 and 1 of C.I. 47 and permitted the Applicant to file a responsive supplementary affidavit. It held that a law clerk may depose to interlocutory affidavits under Order 20 Rule 8. Crucially, the Court determined that perjury allegations are criminal, require prosecution and proof beyond reasonable doubt, and cannot justify striking out contempt proceedings. It affirmed the Court’s power to refer lawyers to the General Legal Council. The objections thus succeeded only on the perjury-related grounds (2 and 3), with the others dismissed.