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Judicial review gets a shot in the arm in Ex parte Hoda Holdings Ltd.

Source: Francisca Serwaa Boateng, Esq.

Judicial review gets a shot in the arm in Ex parte Hoda Holdings Ltd.
MarryRight Ghana

Introduction

A regular feature of every practicing lawyer’s life is the relentless reading of cases that have been decided by the courts. Favourite cases, in order of ascending hierarchy, are those from the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court (collectively known as the Superior
Courts of Judicature). There is nothing more fulfilling and pleasurable than reading a well reasoned decision of a court. Regardless of the level of the court in which the decision was given, it is always a delight to savour a sweet decision. Some judgments evoke awe and admiration.
Some judgments induce laughter and embarrassment. And some judgments provoke anger and annoyance. It is a joy to read a judgment or ruling that is well-thought through, researched and presented. One such judgment is the Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Ex parte Hoda
Holdings Ltd. This article discusses the decision in Ex parte Hoda Holdings Ltd and posits that, the decision is the latest refreshing ‘treatise’ on the concept of judicial review in Ghana.

Different shades of court decisions

Within the space of one week, three decisions of the Superior Courts I have read have made profound but varying impressions on me. Two out of those three decisions won my admiration. They were well-written, properly analyzed and reached clear conclusions based on the law as I
understand it. One of the decisions was given by the Court of Appeal, which I intend to discuss shortly. 

  1. The other was a High Court decision - Republic v Godwin Osei & Another; Ex parte Nene Narh Matti III & Another - in which the judge showed class and industry in a 33 – page, single-spaced ruling that ended with the committal of two persons into prison for contempt of court.
  2. The judge discussed the rules and virtually all relevant court decisions on contempt of court in Ghana. Since the allegation of contempt was in relation to a land case, the judge made forays into land law, as well as a previous Supreme Court case between the parties, before reaching his conclusion. 

In both the Court of Appeal and High Court cases, the depth of the learned Justices’ analyses of the facts and the applicable law, and reference to relevant legal authorities reflected the hard work that was invested in the adjudicatory process. The third decision was a ruling in a High Court case known as Springfield Exploration & Production Ltd v ENI Ghana Exploration & Production Ltd & Another 3 that left me in a trance for several minutes. It was a ruling in an application for interlocutory injunction. The judge stated that the grounds for the application were in the applicant’s affidavit in support and so, she “need not reproduce nor paraphrase them”.


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