General News of Wednesday, 18 July 2018
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2018-07-18
Kizito Benyou said the affidavit against Kwaku Asare was defective
The Supreme Court has struck out an application for an injunction against the upcoming entrance examination for the Ghana School of law slated for July 27.
The seven-member panel comprising Justices Jones Dotse, Anin Yeboah, Baffo-Bonnie, Akoto Bamfo, Alfred Benin, Yaw Appau, Gabriel Pwamang arrived at this decision following an initial objection raised by lawyers for the General Legal Council.
U.S based Ghanaian lawyer, Prof. Stephen Kwalu Asare in June this year dragged the General Legal Council(GLC)to the apex court alleging they are in contempt of court for failing to obey an earlier order of the court. The Supreme Court in June 2017 ruled that the entrance examination and interviews organized as requirements for admission into the Ghana School of Law is unconstitutional.
The Court further ordered that the law backing whatever mode of admission they intend to rely for the year 2018 is in place within 6months. Prof. Asare contends this was to elapse on December 22,207 but the GLC only got Parliament to pass a Legislative Instrument on March 15, 2018.
This instrument it will be recalled provides for an entrance examination. Lawyers for Prof Asare maintain that failure to have this law passed by December 22, 2017, meant the only law governing the 2018 admission process is the previous instrument which does not provide for either an entrance examination or Interview session.
He, therefore, contends that all qualified Law first degree holders are must be admitted by the Ghana School of Law or alternate places of instruction be provided for them.
Lawyers for the General Legal Council on Wednesday raised a preliminary legal objection urging the court to dismiss the case. Lead Counsel Kizito Benyou told the court the affidavit was defective as it suggests initially they are the words of Prof Kwaku Asare.
He argued a further reading shows another person actually swore the affidavit on his behalf. He added that it was alien to Ghana’s legal system for another person to sign an affidavit for or on behalf of another person
Lawyer Benyou said the defects were not simply irregularities but rather an issue dealing with the substantive case. He said, “in our opinion, there is no affidavit backing this application due to the defects”.
The GLC lawyer conceded he was aware of a notice of power Attorney filed at the court but maintained that could not
“It would have been cured if the person who swore the affidavit had stated in the initial part of the affidavit that he was swearing it on someone’s behalf”.
Chief State Attorney Sylvester Williams associated himself with the submission made by the GLC Counsel. He added that the Power of Attorney filed at the court was defective as it lacked the signature of a witness.
The lawyer for Prof. Asare, Kofi Bentil asked that the court allows them to rectify the defects. He told the court it had on many times in past allowed for such defects that don’t affect merit of a case to be corrected.
Justice Appau, who is a member of the seven-member panel interjected that the mistake wasn’t simply one that could be remedied.
“This is neither an omission or mistake, its a lie,” he said.
Kofi Bentil then asked that the court allows the application to be withdrawn. Justice Dotse reading the decision of the panel struck out the application