FINAL MOCK EXAMINATION

DATE: SATURDAY, 3RD AUGUST 2024

INSTRUCTIONS:

i. There are six questions in all.

ii. ANSWER FOUR QUESTIONS ONLY
iii. QUESTION ONE (1) is COMPULSORY
iv. All questions carry equal marks.
v. Time allowed for the paper is Three (3) Hours.

QUESTION ONE:

Parliament recently passed the Proper Human Rights and Family Values Bill which seeks to
proscribe all LGBTQI+ and its related activities. The Bill was introduced by Hon. Sam George,
the MP for Ningo Prampram Constituency. The Bill contains provisions for criminal sanctions
including imprisonment and the payment of fines for persons convicted of engaging in the acts.
When the Bill was first introduced in Parliament and at its first reading, the Majority Leader, Hon.
Afenyo Markin raised an objection to the Bill being considered by Parliament. He anchored his
objection on Article 108 of the Constitution, which provides that Parliament shall not proceed
to consider a bill, which in the opinion of the person presiding makes provision for the
imposition of a charge on the consolidated fund. He argued that under the circumstances, the
Bill ought to have emanated from the Attorney General, who is the representative of the
government pursuant to Article 88. This objection was overruled by the Speaker of Parliament,
Hon. Alban Bagbin.

At the second reading of the Bill, the majority leader again raised some concerns about certain
clauses of the Bill and recommended that same should be amended. This was referred by the
Speaker to a committee to consider the clauses for possible amendment. The Committee
recommended that those clauses be amended by the addition of additional clauses that initially
did not appear in the explanatory memorandum attaching to the Bill when it was originally
introduced in Parliament.

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The Bill has been passed by Parliament and is in the process of being sent to the President for
his assent.

Richard Dela Sky a citizen activist, has invoked the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
under Article 2(1) & 130 of the Constitution for a declaration that the Bill passed is unconstitutional
on the following grounds:

(a) That the bill imposed a charge on the consolidated fund, and so Parliament ought not to
have entertained the Bill since it did not emanate from the President; and

(b) That the amendment of certain clauses of the Bill without amending the explanatory
memorandum is unconstitutional and was outside the scope of Parliament.

Lawyer for the speaker of Parliament, Mr. Sory, entered appearance and raised a
preliminary objection to the jurisdiction of the Court. He argued that the Bill has not become
law within the meaning of Article 2(1) of the Constitution, for that reason, the Supreme Court’s
jurisdiction has not been properly invoked.

He argued further that, Article 108 is inapplicable in this case. He contended that, the mere fact
that a Bill has consequential effect on the consolidated fund does not mean that it makes provision
for the imposition of a charge on the consolidated fund. It is his contention that the phrase should
be limited to instances of direct provision by the Bill for the imposition of a charge on the
Consolidated Fund. He cited section 21 of the CHRAJ Act, 1993 (Act 456) to buttress his
argument which provides as follows:

“The administrative expenses of the Commission including all salaries, allowances

and pensions payable to or in respect of, persons serving with the Commission are
charged on the Consolidated Fund.”

He contended that in this Act, a specific and direct provision is made for the imposition of a charge
on the Consolidated Fund, but nothing of that sought is mentioned in the Proper Human Rights
and Family Values Bill, and that consequential charges such as feeding prisoners by the state
was not the intendment of the framers of the Constitution.

He also contended, in the alternative, that even if the Bill imposed a charge on the consolidated
fund, the Speaker is the one conferred with the power to make that determination. He contends
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the said power is discretionary and thus, its exercise is a political question that cannot be
questioned by the Supreme Court.

Mr. Sory further argued in relation to the amendment made to some clauses of the Bill that same
did not violate Article 106 of the Constitution as parliament has the power under Article 106(6) of
the Constitution, 1992. He accordingly prayed the Court to dismiss the action as without merit.

Carefully identify the contentious issues that arise for resolution by the Supreme Court
and resolve each of them. Advise in relation to each issue, the correct approach that the
Supreme Court should adopt to determine the case.

QUESTION TWO:

In October 2022, the General Legal Council refused to call one Nana Ama to the Ghana Bar
because they believed that she was not of high moral character and proven integrity. Although
she won the petition that was made against her conduct, the Chief Justice of Ghana, in a
conference organized by the Gimpa Faculty of Law, intimated that Nana Ama was never going
to be called to the Bar. Nana Ama is aggrieved and feels this decision violate her constitutional
right to fairness and equal treatment. She therefore filed an action in the Supreme Court for a
declaration that:

(a) The failure by the GLC to call her to the bar violates her constitutional right to equality
before the law.
(b) The failure by GLC to call her to the bar violates Article 19 of the Constitution because
the offence they alleged she committed was never made known to her.

The Chief justice empanelled the 5 justices (inclusive of herself) to determine the matter, because
there were not enough justices at the time to make up the number without the Chief Justice.

Nana Ama has raised an objection to the Chief justice being on the panel on grounds of
the nemo judex incausa sua principle. As a legal intern, write a reasoned opinion to your
senior in chambers about the propriety or otherwise of the objection and the success of
the substantive suit.

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QUESTION THREE:

Kofi, a teacher at a Whizz kids Preparatory School, takes a party of children to a nature reserve
on a mountain. This reserve is locally known for the sudden mists which from time to time
descends over the mountain, though Kofi is unaware of this. Before the trip, however, Kofi
discussed the intended trip with a friend, Benedict who works as an NSS personnel at the
reserve. This discussion took place at Bosphorus Restaurant, Labone where the two buddies
normally hang out. Although Benedict was barely six months old since he started working with the
reserve, he assured Kofi of his and the children’s safety.

Whilst at the reserve, early in the afternoon a thick mist envelops the area, and the temperature
drops rapidly. Kofi has forgotten to bring with him a map and a compass, and the group becomes
hopelessly lost. After rambling aimlessly for a while, the party takes shelter in a derelict house to
wait for mist to clear.

Meanwhile, when Kofi failed to return home at the expected time, his wife informed the police,
and a search party is mounted. Kwabena, a member of the search party, misses his footing on a
sharp bank and broke his leg. When Kofi and the children are eventually found later that they are
all taken to the hospital suffering from the effects of exposure and one of them, Ama is found with
a very severe cold. The Children's parents are informed of what has happened and Ama's mother
Joy watches on television news bulletin which shows the children being taken from the ambulance
into the hospital. Joy rushed to the Ridge hospital where Ama was receiving treatment. Ama was
supposed to have undergone surgery, but the doctors insisted that Ama did not need surgery and
that she would soon be okay. The situation got worse at midnight, by which time, however, all the
doctors had left the hospital. The next morning, when they returned, Ama had passed away. Joy,
Ama’s mother immediately suffered a nervous shock as a result of the death of her only beloved
daughter. She is distraught and wants to sue the hospital for psychiatric harm. The doctors have,
however, argued that their opinion was reasonable since every reasonable doctor would have
done same.

Advise all the parties as to their respective rights and obligations.

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QUESTION FOUR:
Elsie has decided to resign from public service to establish a Hair and Beauty salon, Akubia
Haircare Salon. She employs a home and office improvement company, which also happens to
be a distributor of professional beauty products, Wils Home Installation and Project Services
(WHIPS), to provide her with a range of services. WHIPS is owned by Elsie’s former classmate,
William Afful. Firstly, Elsie contracts WHIPS to install a central air conditioning system in her salon
for a sum of ¢50,000 cedis. This particular contract contained a clause to the effect that WHIPS
is not liable for breach of contract if after installation the air conditions do not work properly, if
there was satisfactory evidence that they acted properly.

Secondly, for an agreed sum of ¢15,000, Elsie asks WHIPS to install shelves in an adjoining
space, which she intends to use as a shop for her beauty products. Thirdly, they enter into a
contract for the supply of 5 hair dryers. Lastly, WHIPS agrees to supply Elsie with 200 bottles of
hair shampoo packed in cases containing 15 bottles. WHIPS has installed the central air
conditioning system, but it works very poorly, and Elsie has refused to pay for it. WHIPS is arguing
that the malfunctioning of the air conditioning system is the result of the poor electrical wiring in
the shop. However, Adeabah Electrical Company has ascertained that WHIPS’ assertion is false.
To Elsie's disappointment, WHIPS has installed the shelves in the adjoining space as agreed, but
there are certain defects, which will cost ¢1500 cedis to repair. Ten days before the date fixed for
the delivery of the hairdryers, the managing Director of WHIPS, William, called to inform Elsie that
it had sold its last five hairdryers to another customer and cannot fulfil the contract. Unfortunately,
the very next day and before the date fixed for performance, WHIPS’ warehouse in which the
hairdryers are stored is burnt to ashes. When the bottles of shampoo arrive, Elsie notices that a
substantial part of the consignment was packed in cases containing 24 bottles, even though the
agreed number of bottles is delivered. Elsie has refused to take delivery of the shampoo. Just as
Elsie is getting ready to take a short vacation before the grand opening of her hair and beauty
salon, she is informed by Luna Travel and Tours that her tour group will not be able to visit the
Cape Coast Castle as agreed but will be able to see the other tourist attractions. Elsie is refusing
to go on the trip, claiming that the contract is frustrated. Advise the parties.

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QUESTION FIVE:
A. In the land mark case of Kpobi Tettey Tsuru III V. Attorney General (La Wireless Station
Case) [2010] SCGLR 904, His Lordship Dotse JSC (as then was) pointed out that:

“My view of the matter therefore is that, Once the use to which the land is to be put is not
restricted to any personal or individual interest, but one to which the general public will
have a benefit or the benefit of the project will inure to the entire country either directly or
indirectly, the public interest purpose will be deemed to have been adequately catered
for.”
As a High Court Judge, discuss, the pre-conditions to be satisfied by the State when
exercising its eminent domain, consider when the article 20(5) and (6) has a retrospective
effect and whether the purpose for which the state acquires land can be changed for
another purpose.

B. In the oft-cited case of Memuna Moudy v. Antwi [2003-2004] 2 SCGLR 967, His Lordship
Dr. Date-Bah JSC (as he then was) made the following poignant observation:
“Compulsorily acquired land is constantly being encroached upon by private persons and
the practice is well-known. The public authorities responsible for the lands in question
often do not take the legal steps necessary to evict the encroachers. If twelve years of
such encroachment were to be regarded as maturing into prescriptive title, State lands
would be under threat. Happily, the way in which section 10 of the Limitation Decree, 1972
operates does not bring such State lands within its ambit.”
He further reasoned thus:
“The Limitation Decree, 1972 is binding on the Republic and therefore its application
cannot be excluded from compulsorily acquired State lands. However, in practice, adverse
possession is not likely to be encountered often in relation to such State lands because
such possession will ordinarily come into play if the intruders are trespassers. However,
in view of the tacit consent of the relevant public authorities to the presence of intruders
on these lands, they will often not yet be trespassers.”
Using the above case as a benchmark, critically evaluate whether the concept of adverse
possession is applicable to State Lands.

QUESTION SIX:

O, the Difference that a Word Makes – Remaking the Laws of Ghana by the Statute
Law Revision Process.
With the aid of appropriate legal authorities, compare and contrast the old formulation
of the offence of conspiracy under section 23 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29)
with Conspiracy under the present enactment, the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) as

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revised by the Statute Review Commissioner under the Laws of Ghana (Revised Edition)
Act, 1998 (Act 562).

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!

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