HAPPEE V. HAPPEE AND ANOTHER

EDUSEI J.

The petitioner in this case is a marine engineer and is a native of the Netherlands whilst the respondent is a Ghanaian by birth. On 21 July 1951 the petitioner married the respondent at the Sekondi District Marriage Registry, and they lived together as man and wife at Sekondi and Takoradi until in 1968 or 1969 when they separated and lived apart. The petitioner has been ordinarily resident in Ghana since 1947, though he occasionally visits his native country on holidays.

Though the petitioner is domiciled in the Netherlands this court is seised with jurisdiction to determine his petition for divorce since he had been ordinarily resident in this country for over 25 years at the time he presented his petition in February 1972. The matrimonial jurisdiction in the instant petition of the court is set out in section 31 of the Matrimonial Causes Act, 1971 (Act 367), as follows:

“The court shall have jurisdiction in any proceedings under this Act whether either party to the marriage …