The law is an ass. This is one of the most graphic expressions that stuck in my young, fresh and then-unadulterated mind when I heard it for the first time. I had then enrolled as a law student at the University of Ghana, Legon, exactly 30 years ago. I wondered why anyone will refer to the ‘law’ as an ass.

If there is one criminal activity that has outsmarted Ghanaians, it is illegal gold mining. Christened as ‘galamsey’, this ass has turned all those who wield power in Ghana into an edentulous lot. Finding a solution to the problem has eluded the President of the Republic. Chiefs are wriggling their hands in despair.

The very nature of the adversarial system of litigation we practice means that, at the end of every case filed in court, there is a winner and a loser. The person who wins will look forward to reaping the fruits of her judgment. The first step the winner must take in order to enjoy the judgment is to file an entry of judgment.

Going to court is serious business. People who file cases in court or defend cases that have been filed against them know that court processes are not matters one takes for fun. There are elaborate rules and procedures to follow for each step a litigant wants to take.

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).

As the diplomatic feud between Chief and Her Excellency was coming to its certain end, another issue came to occupy our collective consciousness to fill the media space and keep the virtual cycle of media banter in full motion. As it emerged in the days following, a certain Chief, (this time, not the Chief of Police but a traditional chief) had reportedly learned from the tax collector that an amount of GH₵365,000 had been paid to him as ex gratia for his part-time work as a member of the Council of State.

It is said that there is no inherent right of appeal in any litigant. Appeals are created by statute. Therefore, any party in a case who is not satisfied with any decision made or order given by a court must appeal by strictly following the rules applicable to the court where the appeal is to be heard.

Once upon a time… time, time!! There was an association of first class citizens; the real descendants of Adam and Eve or Adamu and Hawa or Dear Boy (It’s unclear who was his female reproductive counterpart). The association was so bedeviled by nagging problems that, the members sent word to the occupant of the third most important stool in the kingdom, praying for a date for a meeting at 9 a.m in the forenoon that same day or so soon thereafter.

On 18th January, 2022, the Supreme Court gave its ruling in Ex Parte Ecobank Ghana Limited[1] and reserved its reasons for a later date. The main issue for determination in the application was whether C.I 132[2] has taken away the High Court’s jurisdiction to hear applications filed after an appeal is lodged against a High Court’s decision.

As a country, Ghana is plagued by many of the ills of developing countries such as open gutters, open defecation and open urination. Since we fail to tell our own story and we sit down for others to set the tone for what our story is, or should be, it is the pungent stories that hold sway.