Legal Notes

Ouster Clauses and Judicial Review is a reference to the power of the court to strike out enactments made by parliament in excess of jurisdiction or to declare an enactment as incompatible. Per FDA v Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp the FDA enacted regulations to regulate tobacco consumption among persons below 18 years, COA struck […]

Ouster clause may be defined as a provision embodied in a written contractual document or in a statute or a national constitution which seeks to oust the normal jurisdiction of the courts. Judicial power of GH is vested in the judiciary Art 125(3), final power to adjudicate is exclusively vested in the judiciary. The courts

Sources of Gh law, Art 11, NRCD; SMCD; AFRCD; ACTS now Acts of Parliament by virtue of the Laws of GH revised edition Act, 1998, once there has been an amendment and consolidation, the amendment is not cited and mentioned, once it has been revised and consolidated, same (amendment) ceases to exist, general rule is

Wills Rule against construing to non-effectuate to create intestacy Governed by the Wills Act 1971 Act 360, section 13 on reasonable provision, it is only under this provision that the courts can interfere with the contents of a will, once the will of the testator is valid, it is interpreted strictly to the words used

Ascertaining intention: In interpreting words of statute or doc, 1st duty is to ascertain intention behind words expressed by considering the words as stated and not by reading the legislative intention into the enactment, where plain meaning is absurd be given secondary meaning through limited power of adding or subtracting what is necessarily implied by

Art 130 subject to HC jurisdiction in enforcement of fundamental HR in Art 33 SC original jurisdiction in constitution interpretation (2) the referencing, effect that where arises in any other court, stay proceedings and question of law concerned referred to SC, and outcome binding on said court, per R v Maikankan HC refer to SC

General principles of law, norms etc. taken for granted and assumed by the courts to have been taken into account by the drafter(s) of a statute and upon which the courts will therefore find a prima facie approach to the construction of a statute or part thereof, apply although there is no question of linguistic

They are aids and our humble servants and not our masters, diff from rules of interpretation of statures, docs, etc. helps determine true meaning of word or phrase, mere tools like internal and external aids, canons, presumptions and special binding rules Maunsell v Olins, the aids to construction not binding rules and do not therefore

Originalism: From US, prominent were Judges Wilkinson and Scalia, original meaning of the word because words by growing becomes adulterated, meaning of word at the time of drafting or making so long as no absurdity arises, interpretation to be within context and history, amendment not always material, judges restrained from introducing own values. Per Date-Bah

Interpretation is the rational process of determining meaning of language used in legal text (doc statute or constitution) subject to any ROL in a specific context for the purpose of applying it to specific set of facts per Edzie. We interpret because words aren’t precise, are ambiguous, not static, grow, may have technical meaning per