Comparative law and justice/Ghana

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Background information


Ghana is one of the 16 officially recognized West African countries. It shares borders with Togo to the East, Cote d'Ivoire to the West, Burkina Faso to the North and the Gulf of Guinea to the South.

The total landmass of Ghana is approximately 239,000 square kilometers. Its geographical features include several mountain ranges including Mountain Afajato; many rivers of historical and economic importance including the Voltas, and Offin; and lakes including Bosomtwe. The climatic conditions of Ghana vary considerably across its territory; ranging from hot tropical conditions in south to desert conditions in the north.

The population of Ghana is estimated at about 22 million. While Accra is the capital city, there are other important ones including Kumasi, Tema, Takoradi, Kintampo and Tamale. The ratio of males to females is 49:51. There are 47 ethnic groups in Ghana, and their relation to one another can be determined by studying the differences and similarities in their spoken languages. An ethnic group is often called by the language its people speak. English is the country's official language and dominates government and business affairs, as well as being the language of educational instruction. Native Ghanaian languages are divided into two linguistic sub-families of the Niger-Congo language family ; the Kwa, and the Gur sub-families. Languages belonging to the Kwa sub-family are found predominantly to the south of the Volta River, while those belonging to the Gur sub-family are found predominantly to the north. The Kwa group, which is spoken by about 75% of the country's population, includes the Akan, Ga-Dangme, and Ewe languages while the Gur group includes the Gurma, Grusi, and Dagbani languages.

Nine languages have the status of government-sponsored languages: Akan, specifically Ashanti Twi, Fanti, Akuapem Twi, Akyem, Kwahu, Nzema; Dagaare/Wale, Dagbani, Dangme, Ewe, Ga, Gonja and Kasem .history has it that those who speak the Kwa sub-family of languages migrated to the present-day Ghana from the Chad-Niger basin area while those of the Gru sub-family came from northeastern part of Africa.

Ghana was under British colonial rule for over hundred years but gained its political independence on 6th March 1957. It the first country in the sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence. Prior to independence, the country was called the Gold Coast. The new country Ghana was named by the first president, Dr.Kwame Nkrumah who led the struggle for independence. There are two schools of thought as to why he chose that name: One, is that he named it after the ancient Ghana Empire. The other is that Ghana is an abbreviation of the phrase "God Has Appointed Nkrumah Already". Ghana became a republic on July 1st, 1960 and Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was elected the 1st president.

On February 24th, 1966, a military coup (without blood-shed) ended the rule of Nkrumah and his government. The coup was led by British-trained officers and took place while Nkrumah was paying an official visit to in Beijing. The new military government called itself the National Liberation Council (NLC). On September 1969, a multi-party election organized by the NLC and a new civilian government was formed by Dr. Kofi Busia and his Progress Party. On January 13, 1972, officers within the military once again carried out a coup and a new military government, the National Redemption Council led by Colonel Ignatius Acheampong, was instituted. On July 5, 1978 General Acheampong was forced to resign from office and General William Akuffo took over as Head of State. On May 15, 1979, a young Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings headed up an uprising within the army. This coup attempt was unsuccessful as Rawlings was arrested but was later freed by the soldiers. On June 4, 1979, days before a general election, a new military coup was carried out by Jerry Rawlings. The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC)vtook power. On June 18, 1979, an election was held and Dr. Hilla Limann became president. On December 31, 1981, Jerry Rawlings once again overthrew the democratically elected government through a military coup and Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) was taken over with Rawlings as chairman (Head of State). On November 1992, a multi-party presidential election was held in Ghana and surprisingly Rawlings won with nearly 60% of the votes with his newly formed National Democratic Party. On December 2000, Rawlings' presidency ended as the constitution only allows two terms in office and John Agyekum Kufour became president until December 2008 when power was reclaimed by Rawlings' National Democratic Party led by John Evans Mills.

The religious composition of Ghana in the first post-independence population census of 1960 was 41% Christian, 38% traditionalist, 12% Muslim, with the remainder having no religious affiliation. A later population census in 2000 showed that about 69% of the population are Christians, about 15% Muslims and 15% belong to other religions. Ghana is considered a secular country and it has no official religion.

Economic development, health, and education
Ghana is well endowed with natural resources. However, it depends heavily on international financial and technical assistance. Gold, timber and cocoa production are its major source of foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 34% of GDP and employs about 60% of the workforce, mainly small landholders. Industrial and service sectors account for 25% and 39% of the GDP respectively. Ghana opted for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program in 2002, but was included in a G8 debt relief program decided upon by at the Gleneagles Summit in July 2005. Priorities to its current $38 million PRGF include tighter monetary and fiscal policies, accelerated privatization and improvement of social services. Ghana remains a candidate country to benefit from Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) funding that could assist in the country's agricultural export sector. As of the end of 2005, Ghana's GDP per capita was $2,500 and its economic growth rate was 4.3%. Its GDP (PPP) as of 2005 was $51.8 billion. As of 2006, Ghana's exports are at about $2.911 billion and its main export partners are the Netherlands (12.3%), the UK (10%), France (6.9%) the US (6.4%), Belgium (4.7%), Germany (4.6%) and Japan (4.2%). As of 2006, Ghana’s imports stand at $4.273 billion and its main partners are Nigeria (12.6%), China (11.4%) the UK (6.6%), the US (6.4%), France (4.9%) and the Netherlands (4.2%). Ghana’s economic freedom score is 60.2, making its economy the 87th freest in the 2010 Index. It is ranked 8th out of 46 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, and its overall score is above the world average. Import bans and restrictions, services market barriers, import fees and taxes, cumbersome and non-transparent standards and regulations, weak enforcement of intellectual property rights, non-transparent government procurement, export promotion schemes, and complex and corruption-prone customs procedures makes undertaking business ventures in Ghana highly challenging. Ghana has moderate tax rates and the top personal and corporate tax rates are 25%. Other taxes include value-added tax (VAT) and capital gains tax. In the most recent year, overall tax revenue as a percentage of GDP was 20%. Inflation has been high, averaging 14.5% between 2006 and 2008.

Ghana has a range of diseases endemic to a sub-Saharan country. According to WHO, common diseases include cholera, typhoid, pulmonary tuberculosis, anthrax, pertussis, tetanus, chicken pox, yellow fever, measles, infectious hepatitis, trachoma, malaria, and schistosomiasis. Others are guinea worm or dracunculiasi, various kinds of dysentery, river blindness or onchocerciasis, several kinds of pneumonia, dehydration, venereal diseases, and poliomyelitis .WHO lists malaria and measles as the leading causes of premature death in Ghana. Among children under five years of age, 70 percent of deaths are caused by infections compounded by malnutrition. To improve health conditions in Ghana, the Ministry of Health emphasized health services research in the 1970s. In addition, WHO and the government worked closely in the early 1980s to control schistosomiasis in man-made bodies of water. Efforts have been intensified since 1980 to improve the nation's sanitation facilities and access to safe water. The percentage of the national population that had access to safe water rose from 49.2 in 1980 to 57.2 percent in 1987 and its currently about 95%. Ghana adopted a number of policies to ensure an improved health sector. These included the introduction of minimum fees paid by patients to augment state funding for health services and a national insurance plan introduced in 1989. Also in 1989, the construction of additional health centers was intensified to expand primary health care to about 60 percent of the rural community .On 18 March 2004, the government launched a National Insurance Health Scheme designed to offer affordable medical care, especially to the poor in the country. Adult Ghanaian are to pay a monthly minimum subscription of six thousand Ghanaian cedis (US $0.66). The government will cater for health treatment of the aged, the poor as well as children of parents who both subscribe to the scheme.

In addition there is a Ghana Health Service (GHS) was established under Act 525 as an agency of the Ministry of Health to ensure access to health services at the community, sub-district, district and regional levels .According to the GHS,infant mortality rate (per 1000 live births) in 2003 was 64,life expectancy at birth (in years) was 58,and the fertility rate was 4.4 .There is a total of 3011 health facilities and 42467 health care professionals in Ghana .As of 2007,the doctor/population ratio was 1:13,683 and the nurse/population ratio was 1:1,454.

The adult literacy rate in Ghana was 65% in 2007, with males at 71.7% and females at 58.3%. Presently, Ghana has 21,530 primary schools, 8,850 junior secondary schools, 900 senior secondary schools, 52 public training colleges, 5 private training colleges, 5 polytechnic institutions, 4 non-university public tertiary institutions, 8 public universities and over 45 private tertiary institutions. Most Ghanaian have relatively easy access to primary and secondary education.

Governance
Ghana has a unitary government and it also practices a constitutional democracy. It has a presidential system of government. Ghana, like most democratic countries, has three branches of government: the Executive (President and his/her Cabinet ministers), the Legislature (Parliament) and the Judiciary. The president is both the Head of State and Head of Government. The Cabinet is made up of a council of ministers nominated by the president subject to approval by parliament. In addition to the Cabinet is a Council of State made up of prominent statesmen and women who advise the president on national issues.This is a non-partisan body. However, the president does appoints some of its members. There are 230 members of parliament in Ghana representing 230 constituencies. In addition, there is a speaker of parliament along with his/her two deputies who are appointed by the president.

Ghana is divided into ten regions: Greater Accra, Western, Eastern, Central, Volta, Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions. These regions are sub-divided into 110 districts. The president appoints regional ministers for each region. In addition, he/she appoints district chief executives for each of the 110 regions.

Ghana’s legal system is comprised of a mixture of common law and customary law. Since it became a republic in 1960, Ghana has had three constitutions, 1969, 1979 and the 1992 Constitutions .The first two were suspended by military governments through coups d’état. The current constitution is from 1992. Its Article 11 states that, 'the law of Ghana shall be the Constitution, enactments made by or under the authority of the Parliament, any order, rule and regulation made by any person or authority under a power conferred by the constitution or or its subordinate legislation, the existing law or the written and unwritten law of Ghana that existed immediately before the coming into force of the 1992 Constitution, and the common law [or the English common law, English doctrines of equity, and the rules of customary law].

Article 11 (2) of the 1992 Constitution identifies the common law as a source of law in Ghana. The common law is defined as including the rules generally known as the common law, the rules generally known as the doctrines of equity and the rules of customary law including those determined by the Superior Court of Judicature.

Elections
Both the president and the vice president are elected on the same ticket to serve a four year term. A president is elected for a maximum of two terms. In addition, all members of parliament are also elected to serve for a minimum of four years. They can stand for re-election as many times as they want.

The 1992 Constitution of Ghana provided for the establishment of an electoral commission which is responsible for conducting all elections for public offices. Suffrage is universal and to qualify to vote in Ghana, one must be a Ghanaian citizen, be at least 18 years of age, be of a sound mind, be a resident/ordinary resident of the area he/she wishes to vote and must not be prohibited from any law in force from voting. .There is no penalty for not voting in Ghana.

Judicial review
Ghana has a decentralized judicial review system where ordinary citizens are permitted by law to challenge any law they deem unconstitutional. However, this is difficult to achieve as the executive often interferes with the judiciary. For example, the 1992 Constitution empowers the president to appoint an unlimited number of judges to the Supreme Court. This has often resulted in ‘judicial packing’ which makes it difficult for the court to declare a statute unconstitutional. Ghana has an adversarial judicial system due to its British colonial legacy.

Courts and Criminal Law
The Ghanaian court system is a multifaceted organization. The Supreme Court of Ghana, which consists of the Chief Justice and four other Justices, is the final Court of Appeal and has jurisdiction over matters relating to the enforcement or the interpretation of constitutional law. The Court of Appeal, which includes the Chief Justice and no fewer than five other judges, has jurisdiction to hear and determine appeals from any judgment, decree, or High Court of Justice's order. The High Court of Justice, which consists of the chief justice and no fewer than twelve other justices, has jurisdiction in all matters, civil and criminal, other than those involving treason. The civil law in force in Ghana is based on the common law's doctrines of equity and general statutes which were in force in England in 1874, and was modified by subsequent Ordinances. Ghanaian customary law is, however, the basis of most personal, domestic and contractual relationships. Criminal law is based on the Criminal Procedure Code of 1960, derived from English criminal law, and since been modified through amendment and have been incorporated into the 1992 Constitution.

Legal safeguards are based on the British legal procedure. Defendants are presumed innocent, trials are public, and defendants have a right to be present, to be represented by an attorney (at public expense if necessary), and to cross-examine witnesses. In practice, authorities generally respect these safeguards.

Punishment
Two of the three categories of the offences cited in the Criminal Code concern offences against the individual. The third category includes a series of offences against public order, health and morality, and the security of the state as well as piracy, perjury, rioting, vagrancy, and cruelty to animals. Several offences reflect Ghana's traditional laws, including drumming with the intent to provoke disorder, cocoa smuggling, and settlement of private disputes by methods of traditional ordeal.

Criminal court procedure is guided by the Criminal Procedure Code of 1960 as subsequently amended. As in English law, the principle of habeas corpus is honoured, and the courts are authorized to release suspects on bail. Ghana's legal system does not use grand juries, but, in accordance with constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights, defendants charged with a criminal offense are entitled to a trial by jury.

Five degrees of offences are recognized in Ghana. Capital offences, for which the maximum penalty is death by hanging, include murder, treason, and piracy. First-degree felonies punishable by life imprisonment are limited to manslaughter, rape, and mutiny. Second-degree felonies, punishable by ten years' imprisonment, include intentional and unlawful harm to persons, perjury, and robbery. Misdemeanors, punishable by various terms of imprisonment, include assault, theft, unlawful assembly, official corruption, and public nuisances. Increased penalties apply to individuals with a prior criminal record. Corporal punishment is not permitted. Punishments for juveniles are subject to two restrictions: no death sentence may be passed against a juvenile, and no juvenile under the age of seventeen may be imprisoned.

The death penalty is rarely used in Ghana except for very serious crimes such as terrorism, first degree murder, high treason. In 2008, the government commuted at least 43 death sentences and granted amnesty to 1,815 prisoners.

Legal personnel
Ghana is a common law jurisdiction and as a result, case law and precedent plays an important role in the law and its development. Article 125(3) of the Ghanaian Constitution states that the judicial power in Ghana shall be vested in the supreme judiciary. Article 127 mandates the independence of the judiciary. Article 129 also states that the Supreme Court shall be the final court of appeal. In addition to the Supreme Court, the Constitution also provides for a Court of Appeal and a High Court. Article 139(4) empowers the Chief Justice to create divisions of the High Court. There are also Tribunal Courts, some of whose membership include non-legal professionals. The order of judicial hierarchy in Ghana is: the Supreme Court, the Courts of Appeal, the High Court, Magisterial and Traditional Courts, and District Tribunals.

In Ghana, all judges are appointed by the president. Article 144 of the Constitution empowers the president to appoint the Chief Justice 'acting in consultation with the council of state and approval of parliament'. The rest of the Supreme Court judges are also appointed by the president 'acting on the advice of the judicial council and consultation with the council of state and approval of parliament'.

Article 153 of the Ghanaian Constitution provides for the establishment of a judicial council which advices the president on legal matters. It has 19 members including the Chief Justice, the Attorney General and one judge from each of the following: the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the High Courts, as well as two representatives from the Ghana Bar Association, and other members of the legal profession as well as non-legal professional appointed by the president. In addition to the power to appoint, the President has also been given the power by Article 146 to dismiss judges.

In Ghana, legal education is often attained at the graduate level after a student has completed a university education. Judges are expected to practice the law as lawyers for some time to acquire the necessary experience before they can be appointed to sit on the bench.

Law enforcement
Ghana has a centralized single police system. The head of the Ghana Police Service is the Inspector-General of Police who is appointed by the president in consultation with his Council of State. The Ghana Police Service has nine different units which are organized under two main groupings under the Inspector-General of Police:Administrative and Operations(Reichel,2008).The deputy Inspector-General of Police for Administration is responsible for four 'schedule';ranging from police recruitment and training to budget and finance matters(Reichel,2008).The deputy Inspector-General of Police for Operations also has four responsibilities including;the criminal investigation division (CID),operation (eg traffic,anti terrorism),and the legal unit (Reichel,2008).In addition,there is also a police intelligence and professional standards often referred to as the (PIPS) .Under the Inspector General of Police and his two deputies are Regional Commanders (there are 11 of them),Divisional Commanders,and District Commanders in descending order.Implementation of policing duties are provided by the Regional Commander which is then carried to the lower ranks.Police offices,stations and posts are at the district levels.Additionally,the Ghana Police Service has a special unit called the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU)which is responsible for investigating violence and abuses against women,children and domestic violence.Ghana also has a Striking Force (Buffalo Unit)which serve as body guards for government officials and sometime given an extra duty of arresting hardened criminals.

Recruitment into the police is done at the rank-and-file at the commissioned-officer levels. All recruits must be Ghanaians by birth between eighteen and twenty-five years of age, must pass a medical examination, and must have no criminal record(Reichel,2008). Escort Police applicants must have at least basic facility in spoken English. General Police applicants must have completed middle school or junior secondary school, and officer corps applicants must hold a university degree.

Crime Rates and Public Opinion
Crimes are very common in Ghana and the most prevalent ones are ,robbery,theft,assaults,bribery and child labor. The crime rate in Ghana is very low compared to those of industrialized countries .According to INTERPOL, between 1996 and 2000,the rate of murder increased from 2.23 to 2.48, an increase of 11.2%. The rate for rape increased from 4.04 to 6.85, an increase of 69.6%. The rate of robbery increased from 1.12 to 2.15, an increase of 92%. The rate for aggravated assault increased from 404.51 to 448.42 per 100,000, an increase of 10.9%. The rate for burglary decreased from 4.42 to 1.3, a decrease of 70.6%. The rate of total index offenses increased from 416.32 to 461.28, an increase of 10.8% (noting that data on larceny was not reported in 1996 and motor vehicle theft in neither 1996 nor 2000). Reliable crime data will be very difficult to get as most crimes in Ghana goes unreported, probably due to the way the society is organized.Crime victims are most likely to report incidence of victimization to their parents or family members than to the police.In addition,the general public does not trust the police to handle their problem because of the police's own track record of corruption.Besides,the police are poorly resourced to gather any meaningful data on crime.

Corruption is perceived as significant. Ghana ranks 67th out of 179 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2008, a slight improvement for the second consecutive year. Corruption is comparatively less prevalent in Ghana than in most African countries in the region. A recent poll measuring public trust in the government found that the courts were one of the least trusted institutions, second only to the police.

Rights
The 1992 constitution of Ghana protects the civil,universal and the fundmental human righs of the citizens.Chapter 5 of the constitution is dedicated to these rights.

Family Law
Basically,there are two laws governing marriage in Ghana;Marriage of Mohammedans Ordinance 1907 and Matrimonial Causes Act 1971.4 Marriage Guardianship: Marriage of Mohammedans Ordinance specifies that marriage is solemnized in presence of bridegroom, brides wali, and two witnesses; Criminal Code identifies causing someone to marry under duress as misdemeanor. Most marriages are performed under customary law, and written records are kept only if the couple chooses to register the marriage with the local council. Persons married under customary law who subsequently wish to marry under civil law must obtain a civil marriage certificate which reflects the words "married under native customary law" in the space provided for "condition". Polygamous marriage is permissible under the customary law of some groups, but not under civil law.

Certificates for the dissolution of a civil marriage may be obtained from the court that granted the divorce. Proper documentation of the dissolution of a customary marriage is a decree, issued by a high court, circuit court or district court under the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1971 (Act 367), Section 41(2), stating that the marriage in question was dissolved in accordance with customary law.

Adoption can be made legally in Ghana only through the Department of Social Welfare.Prospective adoptive parents must be resident in Ghana a minimum of three months prior to adopting a child .The applicants must be at least 25 years of age and at least 21 years older than the child .An application for adoption may be made jointly by a husband and wife,although same-sex couples are not allowed to adopt children in Ghana, nor are single males unless the child to be adopted is their biological child .Applicants must be gainfully employed and she/he must be of sound mind and must undergo a medical exam as part of the pre-approval process.

The principal laws relating to inheritance in Ghana are the following,Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, 1992 ,Administration of Estates Act, 1961 (Act 63) ,The Wills Act, 1971 (Act 360) ,Intestate Succession Act, 1985 (PNDC Law 111) ,Intestate Succession Amendment law, 1991 (PNDC Law 264) 'Conveyancing Act, 1973 (NRCD 175) and The Marriages Act, 1884 – 1985 (Cap 127). Ghanaian law is emphatic that, in relation to immovable property, the law of the place where the property is located is applicable .For example,under the Ghanaian Interstate Succession Act of 1985, in the absence of a will, the entire estate of the deceased devolves to the next of kin. The compulsory beneficiaries are the children, spouse and parents of the deceased. The fraction of the estate distributed to each heir varies according to the numbers and categories of heirs involved in the distribution .The surviving spouse and/or children are entitled to all the household chattels of the deceased.

The constitution of Ghana also guarantees citizens rights to privacy and to own properties.I says in chapter 5 that "every person has the right to own property either alone or in association with others and that no person shall be subjected to interference with the privacy of his home, property, correspondence or communication except in accordance with law and as may be necessary in a free and democratic society for public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the protection of the rights or freedoms of others.

Social Inequality
The current school attending rate for school going age person at all levels of education in Ghana is 86%.the rate for females is much lower than that of males especially in the three northern regions .the average annual expenditure incurred by a household on a person going to school or a university is 88.86 GH.cedis (about $63) .This figure is however very high in Accra and other urban area(280.81 GH.cedis,about20 $200) .The income gab between the rich and poor in Ghana is very wide.Higher education is still reserved for the rich.

Human Rights
In theory, all Ghanaian citizens have equal rights. Article 5(2) of the 1992 constitution of Ghana says that "every person in Ghana, whatever race, place of origin, political opinion, color, religion, creed or gender shall be entitled to the fundamental human rights and freedom of individuals but subject to the respect for the rights and freedom of others and of the general public" Section 3 of the same Article says "no person shall be deprived of his life intentionally except in the exercise of execution of sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offense under the law of Ghana of which he was convicted". .In addition,Article 5 of the constitution also says that " person who is arrested, restricted or detained shall be informed immediately; in a language that he understands, of the reasons for his arrest, restriction or detention and of his right to a lawyer of his choice" .It also says that "a person who is arrested, restricted or detained for the purpose of bringing him before a court in execution of an order of a court; or upon reasonable suspicion of his having committed or being about to commit a criminal offense under the laws of Ghana, and who is not released shall be brought before a court within forty-eight hours after the arrest, restriction or detention and that a person who is unlawfully arrested, restricted or detained by any other person shall be entitled to compensation from that order person" .The constitution of Ghana also states that "all persons shall be equal before the law and that a person shall not be discriminated against on grounds of gender, race, color, ethnic origin, religion, creed or social or economic status" .In spite of all these constitutional guarantees of fundamental rights and equality,the justice system habitually discriminates against poor and the weak.The police only protect the rich against the poor and in fact it is very common for the rich to bribe the police to torture and/detain someone for no reason.