The Ghana Legal System and Judicial Framework

This set covers key legal definitions, Latin maxims, rules of statutory interpretation, and judicial concepts mentioned in the lecture notes on the Ghana Legal System.

Stare Decisis

A Latin maxim meaning 'stand by past decisions and do not disturb things at rest'; it is the foundation of judicial precedent where courts follow earlier decisions in similar cases.

Ratio Decidendi

Defined as the 'reason for the decision'; it is the binding element of a judicial decision consisting of the rule of law upon which the judgment is based.

Obiter Dictum

A 'thing said by the way'; a chance remark or statement of law made by a judge in a judgment that is not binding because it does not form the basis of the court's decision.

Per Incuriam

A doctrine meaning 'through lack of care'; it refers to a decision reached by a court in ignorance of a relevant binding precedent or statutory provision, rendering it non-binding.

Literal Rule

A rule of interpretation stating that the intention of Parliament must be found in the plain, ordinary, or grammatical meaning of the words used in a statute.

Golden Rule

An interpretative rule that allows a court to depart from the literal meaning of words if doing so avoids an absurdity or inconsistency that the legislature could not have intended.

Mischief Rule

Also known as the rule in Heydon's case; it enables courts to adopt an interpretation that suppresses the 'mischief' a statute was intended to remedy and advances the prescribed remedy.

Expressio Unius Exclusio Alterius

A linguistic canon of construction meaning 'to express one thing is by implication to exclude anything else'; mentioning one member of a class implies the exclusion of others.

Ejusdem Generis

A rule providing that where a statute lists specific things followed by general words, the general words are limited to things of the same kind (genus) as the preceding specific items.

Noscitur a Sociis

Literally 'a thing is known from its associates'; a rule where words take their meaning from the context of the words with which they are associated.

Bond of 1844

A historical treaty between the British and a confederation of Fante States that serves as the foundation of the modern Ghana legal system by establishing British judicial authority.

Grundnorm

In Hans Kelsen's pure theory of law, it is the ultimate 'basic norm' from which every other law in a legal system derives its validity.

Nolle Prosequi

A power exercised by the Attorney-General meaning 'not to wish to prosecute'; it discontinues criminal proceedings against an accused person at any stage before judgment.

Autrefois Acquit/Convict

A plea asserting that an accused person has already been previously acquitted or convicted of the same (or substantially the same) offence by a competent court.

Garnishee Proceedings

A legal process for enforcing a money judgment where a third party (the garnishee) who owes money to the judgment debtor is ordered to pay that money to the judgment creditor instead.

Writ of Fieri Facias (Fi-Fa)

A legal process for enforcing a judgment for the payment of money by the seizure and sale of the judgment debtor's movable or immovable property.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Methods of resolving legal problems without resorting to formal court litigation, including negotiation, mediation, and arbitration.

Common Law (Ghanaian definition)

Under the 1992 Constitution, it comprises the rules of law known as the common law, the doctrines of equity, and the rules of customary law, including those determined by the Superior Court of Judicature.

Substantive Law

The branch of law that defines the rights and duties of persons, such as defining criminal conduct or contractual obligations.

Adjectival (Procedural) Law

The law that determines the ways and means by which substantive rights are enforced, consisting of rules of evidence and civil/criminal procedure.