Day 18 - the Sterling Partnership, the Supreme Court, and the Ghana Oil Club

At 8:30 on Thursday morning I met with two lawyers from the Sterling Partnership, Yaw Eshon and Patrick Anim-Addo.  Both Yaw and Patrick used to practise in the UK: Patrick was – as many CEBA members will know – a barrister at 12 Old Square Chambers.  We had an interesting discussion about the law in the UK and Ghana.  I asked them about something which had been puzzling me, namely the fact that criminal matters seem to make up a relatively small proportion of cases in the Ghanaian courts.  They suggested a couple of reasons for this: firstly, the lack of legal aid, which means that many defendants don’t have a lawyer, and secondly, the fact that many matters are dealt with in a rather rough and ready way without lengthy court procedures.

I then went to the Supreme Court to hear judgment being given in the constitutional law case that I had been following there.  Nene Amegatcher of Sam Okudzeto & Associates was counsel for the plaintiff.  It was alleged by the plaintiff that a provision of the Local Government Act, by which the President was authorised to create and redraw districts, was unconstitutional because this power was vested in Parliament only and could not be delegated.  Unfortunately, the Supreme Court decided in favour of the defendants (the Attorney-General and the Electoral Commission).  It was held that the power vested in Parliament was to “make provision” for the creation and redrawing of districts, which was not the same as actually creating and redrawing them.  They further held that where an executive action is expressly authorised by Parliament, there is a rebuttable presumption that it is constitutional which was not rebutted in this case. 

There was a rather amusing moment after the judgment had been read and the chair had delivered his concurring opinion.  Mr Amegatcher rose and thanked the panel for their judgment and for clarifying an important point of law.  Counsel for the Attorney-General likewise got to his feet and expressed his thanks.  Counsel for the Electoral Commission then rose – and apologised for being late.

In the afternoon I attended a lecture organised by the Ghana Oil Club on indemnity and exclusion clauses in oil and gas contracts.  My motivation in attending was, admittedly, more a desire to take up all opportunities offered to me than a burning need to know more about oil and gas indemnities.  I was also somewhat tempted by the promise of refreshments – indeed, I had to be gently reminded by Mellisa, when I asked what time “the lunch” was, that we were attending a lecture with lunch, rather than lunch with a lecture.  The lecture was, in fact, really quite interesting.  It was by a UK lawyer and the principles discussed were ones with which I was familiar (duty to mitigate, implied terms, Hadley v Baxendale etc). 

Unfortunately, I suffered some agony of spirit getting there.  The lecture was to start at 1:30pm.  I had been told it was a fifteen to twenty minute drive.  At 1pm, I was ready to leave.  At 1:10pm, we (Mellisa, Joy – the other intern – and I) seemed to be almost on our way.  At 1:15pm, however, it was discovered that Joy had some work which needed to be done before we left.  At 1:30pm, we were still in the office.  At 1:35, we had left.  At 1:40pm, we were lost – and again at 1:50 and 2pm.  When we were not lost, we were stuck in traffic.  At 2:15pm, we arrived – some forty-five minutes after the lecture had begun.  Throughout this period, Mellisa and Joy were relaxed and calm.  They made jokes about us being fashionably late.  I, on the other hand, from about 1:10pm was increasingly stressed and anxious and was trying to chivvy the others without it being painfully obvious that I was chivvying.  I was mortified when we entered the lecture room, and apologised obsequiously to the lecturer afterwards.  I hadn't felt so British since leaving Newcastle.