Republic v High Court (Land Division 4) Accra (J5/31/2025) [2025] GHASC 37 (20 May 2025)

Republic v High Court (Land Division 4) Accra (J5/31/2025) [2025] GHASC 37 (20 May 2025)

The trial judge breached the rules of natural justice by convicting and sentencing the applicant and 3rd Interested Party for contempt without distinctly stating the charge and affording them an opportunity to answer. The judge also erred in failing to determine the applicant’s pending motion before ruling on...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2025] GHASC 37
Parties
Applicant: Masud Ibrahim; Respondent: High Court (Land Division 4), Accra; 1st Interested Party: Golden Exotics Limited; 2nd Interested Party: Summertide Company Ltd; 3rd Interested Party: Samuel Atsu Forson
Court
Supreme Court
Jurisdiction
Ghana
Case Number
J5/31/2025
Procedural Posture
Civil Motion (supervisory Jurisdiction) / Ruling on Application for Certiorari and Prohibition
Outcome
Application allowed
Legal Topics
Certiorari, Prohibition, Contempt of Court, Recusal of Judge, Natural Justice, Bias
Source Language
en
Judicial Review Civil Procedure Land Law Certiorari Prohibition Contempt of Court Recusal of Judge Natural Justice +1 more

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Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Masud Ibrahim

Applicant

High Court (Land Division 4), Accra

Respondent

Golden Exotics Limited

1st Interested Party

Summertide Company Ltd

2nd Interested Party

Samuel Atsu Forson

3rd Interested Party

Procedural Posture

Civil Motion (supervisory Jurisdiction) / Ruling on Application for Certiorari and Prohibition

  1. 1 Whether the trial court breached rules of natural justice in convicting the applicant and 3rd Interested Party for contempt without a hearing
  2. 2 Whether the trial judge committed a fundamental error of law by failing to determine the applicant’s motion to arrest ruling and file supplementary affidavit before ruling on recusal
  3. 3 Whether the trial judge’s conduct and comments established a real likelihood of bias warranting prohibition

Ratio Decidendi

The trial judge breached the rules of natural justice by convicting and sentencing the applicant and 3rd Interested Party for contempt without distinctly stating the charge and affording them an opportunity to answer. The judge also erred in failing to determine the applicant’s pending motion before ruling on recusal. The judge’s conduct and comments established a real likelihood of bias, justifying prohibition.

Court Disposition

Application allowed

Orders

  • The proceedings and/or ruling of the High Court (Land Division 4), Accra dated 20th December 2024 convicting and sentencing the applicant and 3rd Interested Party are brought up and quashed.
  • The decision to proceed to rule on the recusal application without determining the pending motion is quashed.