Challenging a Court Order

Dear Reader,

I do not have enough information to give you advice on this matter (remember that the advice here is not meant to be definitive legal advice, but rather points of discussion. You must still see a lawyer immediately).

That said, from what you have said, your friend's strongest ground is his claim that he has not been notified by the court of the goings-on. I will let you know that in my 8 years' experience, such claims are either not true or untenable in any case. It may well be that your friend simply ignored court notices. It may be that your friend made himself or herself difficult to find to serve with court notices. If the second theory is true, the court could have ordered substituted service which means service by another means such as the newspapers or posting the notice on the court notice board and/or on the wall of your friend's building.

If in spite of the paragraph above your friend is positive that he or she has not been notified of the court proceedings as well as the order at the end of the proceedings, they may bring any of several applications to the same court which gave the order. Without discussing the fine, technical detail, such applications include:

- Application for Review (of the Court Order);

- Application to Set Aside the Order of the Court;

- Application for Stay of Execution (of the Court Order);

It may serve your purposes better to try some of these applications. If they are successful, your friend has respite. If they are unsuccessful, then your friend can go on appeal (but eventually, your friend is likely to lose the land since he is not a bona fide purchaser of the land without notice. This simply means that your friend did not do the requisite enquiry to find out if there were no competing interests in the land they bought.

Good luck to your friend.

Mentioning Competitors in Your Ads

Dear Reader:

1. Within the limits of the law, a person should be able to mention their competitors in an ad.
2. Within the limits of the law means you must not defame (libel or slander) them.
3. Even if the words are spoken in the ad, the fact that the words are permanent (i.e. the ad has been recorded on DVD or in another form) makes it libel and not slander.
4. I believe you can for example say than your product is better than your competitor's.
5. You may even be able to say yours is healthier since it is relative and does not say that theirs in unhealthy.
6. The problem arises when you attribute negative, hazardous or dangerous attributes to your competitor's product.
7. For example, if you are going to claim in an ad that your competitor's product causes blindness or cancer or impotence or obesity or hypertension, you must have some (scientific) proof of that. If you have proof, then you can fall on the defence of Justification (a fancy word for truth) if they sue you for defamation.
8. But defamation is not the only complaint your competitor could have against you.
9. There is an area of law called economic torts. One such is Tortious (Wrongful) Interference with Business Relationships, where Party A's conduct or statement prevents Party B from successfully building or retaining business relationships. An example would be where your false or unsubstantiated statement about a product causing cancer causes the producer to lose their present and prospective clientele. 
10. Just as with defamation, a person who has suffered an economic tort by your action can sue you for damages.
11. In sum, beyond making damaging comments about your competitor in your ad, there is very little they can do. If your statement is merely comparative, it may well be seen in law as a mere 'puff', without more.

(I apologise for not coming back earlier. I took my eyes off this space because I had not had a question in a while.)

Studying Law with an American Degree

Dear Reader,

As far as I know, there is no special track for American B.A. degree holders who want to study law in Ghana. In fact, there is no such special track even for Ghanaian B.A. degree holders who want to study law. They all have to do the LLB in Ghana before they can go to the Ghana School of Law.

I do not know if you are really asking about about American law degree holders. I do not know the answer to that, but I will find out and put out an additional note for you.

Claiming Back Your House

Dear Reader,

1. Our Rent Act is very socialist (you see, it was enacted in the 1960s). Normally, when a lease or tenancy ends, and the tenant chooses to remain in the premises, they enjoy an 'Irremovable Status' unless the law says they should go.
2. Therefore, you will have to get a court order to remove a tenant who has overstayed the agreed period.
3. You have not stated how long your lease was, but it is not a hard-and-fast rule that you should give a tenant 3 months' notice to quit. Sometimes, it is less. Sometimes, it is even 6 months.
4. If your tenant refuses to quit, you may want to consider suing them in a magistrate court.
5. Having said all that, there is a concept known as 'Self-Help', where a property owner 'helps' themselves by throwing out the property of the tenant and locking up the premises. This has been upheld by the courts in some cases (although reluctantly). 
6. What you must know about 'Self-Help' is that you must not do it, if it will be resisted physically by the tenant, which might cause a brawl or an altercation.That would be a criminal offence.
7. Another thing is you must ensure that the you have not accepted any rent from the tenant for a further period since the tenancy ended, or you would have waived your right to let them leave. Throwing them out whether by force or by putting inconveniences in their way, while they are still 'legally' in your premises, amounts to another offence - inducement to quit.
8. The best and most risk-free advice I can give you is to sue them in a magistrate's court.

Good luck.

Handing Over Your Licence

Dear Reader,

Pardon me for taking so long to get back on this one.

1. The Road Traffic Act provides that a person driving on a road has to produce their licence for examination if a police officer asks them to.
2. The law does not say exactly what it means to produce the licence, and it could mean a certain number of things. I believe the best view to take of this is, a person cannot claim to have produced their licence if they merely hold it up from a distance or provide a photocopy.
3. The law also gives up to 24 hours to produce the licence.
4. If a person suspects that a police officer will take the licence in order to extort money, well, they can produce it within 24 hours at the officer's police station. I believe you can insist politely that you would like to produce your licence at a police station (if it is convenient for you).
5. Please note that refusal or failure to produce your licence can be punished by conviction and a fine of up to GHS 600 or 1 year's imprisonment or both the fine and the prison term.

A 6 Year-Old Alleged Sexual Molester

Dear Reader,

This is a not-so-straightforward one.  Sexual molestation or assault by violating the victim’s body in a manner not amounting to rape or defilement or buggery is a criminal offence under the fancy name Indecent Assault.

The law deems anybody below the age of 12 as incapable of committing any crime including Indecent Assault. That is why the minimum age for putting child offenders in an institution is 12.

However, there are rules of punishment in society for all ages.

First, the school (by its rules) should be able to punish a 6 year-old who is described as a repeat or habitual offender by calling in his parents and/or suspending and/or expelling him. What influences is the boy being subjected to at home? What is he watching around him – in real life or on TV?

If the school will not take action, it can be sued because it is responsible for every child and their behaviour towards other children during school hours.

Even if the child is expelled, there must be something showing that the child has this problem; otherwise it will merely be repeated in another school.

Such a child needs help, but while he is getting help, other children must be protected from him.

Commuting Leave to Cash

Dear Reader,

1. To answer the question "Can you do it?", simply, No!

2. The Labour Act says an agreement to forgo leave is void.

3. The legal provision might appear indirect, but taking cash surely means forgoing leave, no?

4. If a person is leaving the employment, then outstanding leave can be commuted and added to entitlements.