Introduction of colonial law in ghana colonial law or western law in the broad african context is a reference to either british, french, spanish, or portuguese law. Ghanas political history precolonial, colonial and postcolonial. An act to amend and consolidate the laws relating to labour, employers, trade unions and industrial relations. Introduction customary law, a set of established norms, practices, and usages derived from the lives of people,1 has thrived in africa, and in ghana in particular, for as long as anyone can remember. The authority and influence of law in society, especially when viewed as a constraint on individual and institutional behavior.
To set up an online repository of legal information from ghana, towards the promotion of rule of law, judicial accountability and good governance in ghana and africa. The rule of law is meant to prevent dictatorship and. Rule of law simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. To make accessible parliamentary, legislative and judicial information in digital form to the general public. Common law freehold is similar to the customary freehold. Introduction country overview the republic of ghana ghana is a west african nation bordering burkina faso on the north, togo on the east, the atlantic ocean on the south, and cote divoire on the west. Until january 7, 1993, ghanas postindependence history was checkered at. Nevertheless, international treaties are not routinely incorporated into national laws and judges are not trained to apply international law principles. Ghana has ratified international human rights and rule of law treaties. This paper examine the relationship between s politics and chieftaincy in ghana in the context of customary law by tracing the position of chiefs throughout the history of ghana. Later this year, the new government will submit a fiscal responsibility law to parliament. A welcome inroad into the doctrine of consideration. The empire became known in europe and arabia as the ghana empire after the title of its emperor, the ghana. In ghana, we believe that respect for the rule of law is essential to building our nation and this has been our thinking since independence.
Access to society journal content varies across our titles. The rule of law is a liberty centred constitutional concept which stipulates that everything must be done in accordance with the law. Stare decisis as judicial doctrine 4 importance to the rule of law,2 promoting the evenhanded, predictable, and consistent development of legal principles, 3 and contributing to the actual and perceived integrity of the judicial process. Cohen, the problems of a functional jurisprudence, 1 modern l. The wlca project with funding support from friends of transparency international ti is a project being implemented by ti chapters in zimbabwe, ghana and uganda and coordinated by ti secretariat tis in berlin. Our goal is to make you want to return, and for you to convince your friends to visit ghana too. What are the key challenges for justice sector reform in ghana. Chieftaincy has been the bedrock of ghanaian society over the years.
Ghanas constitution of 1992 with amendments through 1996. The author gratefully acknowledges the encouragement and assistance of professor elias clark of the yale law school, and mr. Ghana remained a british colony until march 6, 1957. The empire appears to have broken up following the 1076 conquest by the almoravid general abubakr ibnumar. Others, including akwamu, bono, denkyira and asante some ethnic groups in southern ghana, were large and powerful kingdoms with a number of vassal and satellite states. For most of human history, attaching military to rule would have been. As ghana celebrates its 50 years of independence, it is a good time to evaluate 15 years of constitutionalism and discuss what reforms are still needed to uphold and strengthen the rule of law. Politics, chieftaincy and customary law in ghanas fourth republic. To provide online freeaccess collection of journals, judgment and.
Ghanaians strongly endorse rule of law but see inequities in how laws are applied afrobarometer dispatch no. The republic of ghana is named after the medieval west african ghana empire. Article pdf available january 2018 with 732 reads how we measure reads. If you have access to a journal via a society or association membership, please browse to your society journal, select an article to view, and follow the instructions in this box. In africa, a large portion of arable land is in tenure by smallscale farmers often women. Marriage and divorce law divorce, ghana, law, marriage. It is an established principle of british constitutional law that the question whether, and if so to what extent, english law should be introduced into a foreign territory under british rule depends on the manner of its acquisition. And there cannot be good governance unless there is established the principle of the rule of law. Furthermore, the paper argues that chieftaincy in ghana. The term military rule as used here is synonymous with military regime and refers to a subtype of authoritarian regime. Highlevel meeting on the rule of law at the national and international levels his excellency mr. The countrys first three democratic regimes never completed their first terms in office, ending in. Rule of law is a legal maxim that suggests that no one is above the law and governmental decisions must be made only by applying known legal and moral principles. Labour act, 2003 international labour organization.
The 2016 edition expands coverage to 1 countries and jurisdictions from 102 in 2015, relying on more than 110,000 household and expert surveys to measure how the rule of law is experienced and perceived in. The longterm success of the project will be determined by whether or not the database of customary decisions continues to be expanded and utilized by traditional authorities within the customary. Ghanaians strongly endorse rule of law but see inequities. The evolution of ghana law since independence william burnett haivey introduction on march 6, 1957, the british gold coast achieved independence in circumstances that apparently offered a bright future for sovereign, independent ghana. This section contains free ebooks and guides on law books, some of the resources in this section can be viewed online and some of them can be downloaded. The protection and preservation of fundamental human rights and freedoms, unity and stability for. Challenges to the rule of aw in africa 9 introduction the workshop on challenges to the rule of law in africa took place in pretoria, south africa on 12 april 2016. Before colonial rule ghana as we know it today comprised many independent states and kingdoms.
Optimizing ghanas fiscal rule aisha adam and david mihalyi the vicepresident of ghana, dr. Mahamudu bawumia, recently announced the governments plans to restore fiscal sustainability in the country. This article discusses one effort to promote the rule of law within the customary or traditional court system in ghana. Marriage and divorce law 4 years ago admin laws and acts governing the system.
Ghanas framework of laws is largely built on the system inherited from the colonial period. It encapsulates such ideals as government according to the law, equality before the law and the independence, and autonomy of the judiciary among others. Ghana school of law students facilities and societies 67 3. On average, the south asia region obtained the lowest scores. Administrative appeals tribunal act 1975 australia. For this to best occur, we ask that you follow some basic rules. Article 1572, constitution supreme court rules, 1996 ci 16 court of appeal rules, 1997 ci 19 high court civil procedure rule, 2004 ci 47.
In 1957, when the leaders of the former british colony of the gold coast sought an appropriate name for their newly independent statethe first black african nation to gain its independence from colonial rulethey named their new country after ancient ghana. This paper from the africa governance, monitoring and advocacy project afrimap highlights both improvements and issues yet to be addressed in the countrys administration of law and justice. He is an international law librarian and professor of law at fordham law school, where he teaches international oil and gas law, international investment law, multinational corporations law international humanitarian law research and international. A reduced kingdom continued to exist after almoravid rule ended, and the kingdom was later. Regulations the minister responsible for justice may, by legislative instrument, make. The rule of law in the external action of the european union 308. The emergence of colonial rule in the northern ghana.
Africa publish your bachelors or masters thesis, dissertation, term paper or essay. We are here to make sure you have a great time while visiting ghana. Article 11 of the 1992 constitution of ghana states. Ghana standards board food, drugs and other goods general labelling rules 1992 2 the importer of any goods detained under subrule i of this rule shall within twentyeight days of detention of such goods label the goods in the required manner or reexport the goods. Pdf the rule of law and democracy in ghana since independence. Civil procedure preliminary issues hierarchy of courts history of the rules of court in ghana various rules of court. The evolution of ghana law since independence duke law.
Promoting rule of law in customary tribunals in ghana. Whilst it has seen many positive developments since the restoration of civilian rule in 1993, including an. Since 195i, adroit leaders of a wellorganized political party had operated a responsible. The objects for which the ghana legal information institute ghalii was formed are. Programmes offered and admission requirements 1012 5. Impacts of mob injustice on the rule of law in ghana. Pdf there is irrefutable evidence supporting the assertion that ghanaians have consistently rejected any form of abuse of power and dictatorial rule find. A company thus has legal rights and obligations in the same way that a natural person. Rule of law and constitutional democracy as key tenants of good governance, have been identified as strategic areas that will enable uganda reach middle income status as planned in both the national vision 2040 and the realisation of the global agenda 2030 and its 17 sustainable development goals sdgs especially goal 16 on peace, justice and. Given this reliance on customary systems of justice, there is both a need and an opportunity to improve the quality of justice in many developing countries by working to promote rule of law within these customary law systems. The abortion should also be conducted only at a government hospital. Pdf ghana justice sector and the rule of law researchgate. Ghana succumbed to attacks by its neighbors in the 11th century, but its name and reputation endured.
Highlevel meeting on the rule of law at the national and. The rule of law is defined in the oxford english dictionary as. The world justice project wjp rule of law index is the worlds leading source for original, independent data on the rule of law. This constitution shall be the supreme law of ghana and any other law found to be inconsistent with. Impacts of mob injustice on the rule of law in ghana lecturer mawuloe koffi kodah research paper undergraduate politics international politics region. To make accessible parliamentary, legislative and judicial information in digital form to the. Finally, the way forward will be discussed and some conclusions drawn. Whether it is by choice or not, the rule of law has been the yearning of all peoples from all generations. Rules, and regulations made by any person or authority under a power. Human rights, individual freedoms and democracy in ghana.
Whose responsibility is it to maintain the rule of law. The rule of law limits the powers of government by judicial defense of laws and the constitution which is based on recognized basic legal values, established in international law. Nov 06, 2014 in ghana, the acl project has laid the foundation to promote greater access to justice and rule of law within the customary law system of the ashanti. The purpose of the workshop was to identify the challenges that confront african union au member states with respect to the rule. The workshop was organized as a collaborative activity between the african union commission auc and the international institute for. John dramani mahama, president of the republic of ghana.
Act 527 constitution of the republic of ghana amendment act, 1996. Military rule, political regime in which the military as an organization holds a preponderance of power. Judiciary and the rule of law the ghana constitution recognises the judiciary as an institution that bears primary responsibility for defending the rule of law. Origin of chieftaincy in ghana in the main, chieftaincy in ghana originated from three sources abotchie in. A stranger in this regard refers to a ghanaian who is not a member of the landowning community. Definition of a company a company is a corporation an artificial person created by law.
The courts then began to impose a fiduciary duty on promoters similar to that imposed on agents. Supreme court decisions ghana legal information institute. The rule of law and democracy in ghana since independence. In addition to being an oasis of peace and stable institutions in a region marred in political turmoil and social unrest, ghana has steadily increased respect of the rule of law over the last fifteen years. Challenges to the rule of aw in africa 7 executive summary the workshop on challenges to the rule of law in africa took place on 12 april 2016 in pretoria, south africa. In addition to being an oasis of peace and stable institutions in a region marred in political turmoil and social unrest, ghana has steadily increased respect of the rule of law over the last. Ghanas pursuit of democratic governance and the rule of law since independence and to test whether there has been a recognition of and adherence to the rule of law which the people had consistently yearned for. To guide such a debate a comprehensive assessment of the justice sector and the state of the rule of law in ghana was needed. Politics, chieftaincy and customary law in ghanas fourth.