Civil Liability Act, 1963 (ACT 176)

If damage was caused partly by another person's fault and partly by the injured person's own fault, the court must reduce recoverable damages fairly; if fault cannot be separated, liability is shared equally.

When damages are awarded under section 1, the court must record specified damage and fault findings and do the required calculations.

If damages were reduced for contributory negligence in an earlier action, the liability finding and fault split from that action bind the parties in a later action about damage from the same facts.

This section defines “concurrent wrongs” and “concurrent wrongdoers.”

A judgment against one wrongdoer does not prevent a separate action against any concurrent wrongdoer for the same damage.

If separate lawsuits are brought over the same damage against concurrent wrongdoers, total damages recovered cannot exceed the damages in the first judgment. The plaintiff usually cannot get costs in the other actions unless the court finds there was a reasonable ground for bringing them separately.

A wrongdoer may recover contribution from a concurrent wrongdoer for the same damage, under this Act.

The court may divide damages and costs among concurrent wrongdoers in a damages action.

A wrongdoer who has paid more than their apportioned share may recover contribution from a concurrent wrongdoer who has not paid enough or is not entitled to indemnity.

A wrongdoer who has paid damage and costs may recover contribution from a concurrent wrongdoer if no apportionment under section 8 was made, and the court sets the amount.

If a defendant says a non-party is partly or wholly responsible for a wrong in a damages action, the court may let the defendant serve a third party notice on that person.

Fraud concealed by one concurrent wrongdoer does not stop time running against the others.

A claim to recover contribution cannot be filed more than two years after the cause of action accrues.

This Part does not make unenforceable indemnity agreements enforceable if they would not already have been enforceable without this Act.

This section defines “Dependant” and “Member of the Family” for this Part.

A wrongful-death action may be brought by the deceased’s personal representative, or in some cases by dependants, but only one action is allowed and it must be started within three years of death.

If a passenger dies in an air accident during international carriage covered by the Warsaw Convention, section 16 applies to any action brought in Ghana to enforce the carrier’s liability, and that liability replaces any other liability imposed by law.

This section sets how damages are calculated and divided for certain death claims, including a cap of one thousand pounds for mental distress damages and special timing limits for that head of claim.

In an air accident case, the court may make any just and equitable order during the proceedings.

When assessing damages, do not count insurance death payments or death-related pension, gratuity, or similar benefits.

If a death was caused partly by the defendant’s fault and partly by the deceased’s contributory negligence, the damages recoverable may be reduced under Part I.

A cause of action vested in a person survives after that person dies, for the benefit of the person’s estate.

A cause of action that exists against a person continues against that person's estate after death.

Sections 22 and 23 do not apply to certain family-law-related causes of action and to compensation claims under the Workmen's Compensation Ordinance.

Rights under this Part are additional to the rights dependants already have under Part III.

A claim against a deceased person’s estate cannot be maintained unless proceedings were already started and pending at death, or are started within the relevant period or within two years after death, whichever comes first.

Damages for the estate cannot include exemplary damages, and funeral expenses may be added in a death-caused-by-the-act case.

If an estate is insolvent, certain surviving liabilities count as provable debts in administering the estate.

A person’s negligence in missing a chance to avoid harm does not освобode the other person from responsibility for the consequences.

An employer remains responsible for injury results even where the injured people are fellow workers in common employment, and any contract term trying to remove or limit that responsibility is void.

If a defendant defeats a damages or contribution claim by pleading a limitation statute, that defendant and related persons cannot recover damages or contribution on the matters in issue.

This section sets fault-based liability rules for vessel damage cases and sets time limits for bringing related actions.

If a court is shown that a successful wrongdoer or that wrongdoer’s estate may be insolvent, the court must ensure recovery is limited so the insolvent party does not recover more than its liability to others from the same accident, occurrence, or transaction.

The law on wrongs applies to an unborn child for the child's protection, but only if the child is later born alive.

This section defines several terms used in the Act, including “action,” “court,” “fault,” “negligence,” “wrong,” and “wrongdoer.”

Statutes listed in the Second Schedule stop applying in Ghana to the extent set out in that Schedule’s third column.

This section repeals the Law Reform (Civil Wrongs) Act, 1959 (No. 12).

Parts I and II apply only to causes of action that accrue after commencement, and Parts III and IV apply only to deaths that occur after commencement.

This section amends the Carriage by Air Order by replacing part of paragraph 1 in the Second Annex with section 15 of the Act.