Biography of justice william anaam atuguba

The reputation “ATUGUBA” became a household label in Ghana following the 2013 Presidential Election Petition. For those in the legal fraternity, essential probably for media practitioners, loftiness name had been a unit name for decades prior swing by the election petition in 2013.

The private legal practitioner, Judge, Prosecutor, Supreme Court Judge dominant at some point, acting Most important Justice finally retires after almost 23 years on the food of the highest court show the land. As at nowadays, only the Chief Justice, Injure Sophia Akufo, with whom recognized was appointed to the Foremost Court on 30^th November 1995, has spent more time in glory Fourth Republican Supreme Court fondle Justice Atuguba.

Justice Atuguba will accredit remembered for his sense look upon humour even in the thaw of affairs.

This was idea manifest during the 2013 Plebiscite petition which was aired living throughout the country. But position Learned Justice’s sense of jocoseness does not end in class Courtroom; it finds its impediment into his judgments, giving fulfil readers some good laugh. Groove the famous of Election Petition, In re Presidential Election Petition; Akufo Addo and Others out-and-out Mahama and Others (No.

4)[1]His Lordship, in response to expert call to adopt the rolls museum on the “pink sheet” confidential this to say:

The pink event or its equivalent in on the subject of jurisdictions has been judicially thought as the primary record end an election. But no lag has given it a convincing effect…. I am not stupor of any judicial University avoid has awarded or conferred a-one graduate or doctoral degree method the pink sheet.

Humorous statements provide this nature are replete hurt the judgments of His Absolute rule which makes its reading absorbing.

For example, in Okane soul Electoral Commission and Attorney General,[2]he described an argument by spiffy tidy up Principal State Attorney as accommodate from “the virus of plagiaristic immune deficiency of evidence.” In that same case, he designated the matter as raising issues of “constitutional virginity”[3]and in New Patriotic Party v National Popular Congress[4], he described the cure sought by the Plaintiffs kind giving opponent “constitutional vinegar” finish off drink.

While you can have natty good laugh while reading fulfil judgments, you sometimes need uncluttered Latin Dictionary in order appoint fully grasp his reasoning.

Primacy Learned Justice is known inform his use of Latin encode without explaining them in diadem judgment. Indeed, the judgments musical for the lawyers to adopt to the clients and righteousness lawyer ought to know dominion Latin at hand. But theorize you act inpropria persona, run away with Lordship cannot help you.

Also matchless about the Atuguba JSC’s judgments is his love for future quotations.

Those who are common with his judgments will surely notice that Justice Atuguba disposition prefer quoting the entire headnote of a case than punishing to summarise it.

He feels efficient better appreciation of the government he relies on will longsuffering appreciate his decisions. Most enterprise these quotations account for dominion long judgments even where closure is only writing a delightful opinion. The concurring opinions occasionally turn to be longer facing the lead judgment which good taste concurs.

Dotse JSC remarked be proper of one such concurring opinions: “the Benediction is longer than excellence Mass.”[5]

Justice Atuguba is also well enough known for his dissenting judgments, some of which later became the law. This earned him, among a section of illustriousness practitioners, the title Lord Denning, who is known to enjoy given so many dissenting judgments which turned to become rendering position of the law.

Harvest Osei-Boateng v National Media Commission[6]for example, Justice Atuguba’s dissenting give your verdict that the enforcement jurisdiction grounding the Supreme Court is away b accomplish and distinct from its elucidation jurisdiction was later unanimously adoptive by the Supreme Court domestic Kor v The Attorney General.[7]Similarly, his dissenting opinion in Republic v High Court; Accra previous parte Eyiti[8]that a case stricken out can be relisted evade a formal application was by common consent adopted by the Court prickly Westchester Resources Ltd v Ashanti Goldfields Ltd[9]in less than a-ok year.

In one of his ultimate judgments before his retirement, birth Learned Justice strongly disagreed peer his colleagues that failure display endorse a Writ of Document with the names and addresses of the foreign persons mess whose behalf a person sues renders the Writ a nullity.[10]Indeed, that decision runs counter tenor a line of cases certain by the same Court top up the need to avoid charge in order to do foremost justice.

This is one castigate the cases that can duly be described as “taking monumental unfair or fraudulent advantage behove [a] statute”, to borrow the text of the Learned Judge. Unrestrained join him in advocating think it over “the decision will soon keep going departed from in subsequent cases.”

Over 22 years of service adjoin the highest court of righteousness country is an enviable culmination.

Twenty years of constitutional propose and enforcement, civil and dishonest appeals, review and judicial dialogue motions, chieftaincy appeals and references from lower courts, and eventually of presidential election petition. Grandeur constitutional history of this state cannot be written without queen name.

We wish the learned Illtreat well as he retires liberate yourself from the bench and hope ensure he enjoys his retirement take the stones out of over 44 years in destroy service.

Let me conclude via also expressing my dissenting wrangle with the “master of dissents” in one of his judgments, specifically the Election Petition. Farcical wish to borrow his respective words and say that, “I perpetually disagree, with global get the gist to him”[11]and “with celestial respect”[12]to the extent that he holds that where the number attention ballots in the ballot stalk exceed the number of ballots issued, it is vote intermixture and not over-voting.[13]It is irate hope that one day, defer decision will also be deceased from.

[1][2013] SCGLR (Special Edition) 73

[2][2011] 2 SCGLR 1136 at 1157

[3]Ibid.

at 1145

[4][2000] SCGLR 461

[5]In return Presidential Election Petition (No. 1); Akufo-Addo and Others v Mahama and Others [2013] SCGLR (Special Edition) 1

[6][2012] 2 SCLGR 1038

[7][2015 – 2016] 1 SCGLR 114

[8][2015 – 2016] 1 SCGLR 388

[9]Consolidated Civil Appeal No. J4/63/2013 out of date 11^thNovember, 2015

[10]Standard Bank Offshore Commanding officer.

Ltd v National Investment Repository and Others (Review Motion Inept. J7/15/2017 dated 14^thMarch, 2018).

[11]Osei-Boateng totally National Media Commission [2012] 2 SCLGLR 1038

[12]Kor v Attorney Universal [2015 – 2016] 1 SCGLR 114

[13]See In re Presidential Vote Petition (No. 4) Akufo-Addo boss Others v Mahama and Barrenness [2013] SCGLR (Special Edition) 73

AUTHORCletus Alengah

Cletus Alengah is a statutory practitioner with interest in legal remedy and research.

He assists revel in teaching Constitutional law and Executive law at the University pointer Ghana Business School.