REPUBLIC V. ERNEST NANA ADJEI, EXPARTE SANDRA ASIEDU ADJEI

JUDGMENT

[1] Introduction

Contempt of Court is the only common law offence still known to our law, as same is saved by Article 19(12) of the 1992 Constitution and section 10 of the Criminal and other offences Act,1960 (Act 29). Unlike other countries where the offence is codified like the English Contempt of Court Act of 1981, ours is still case law.

According to S.A Brobbey in his book on the Law of Chieftaincy in Ghana, page 466, the learned author and former Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana said that:

“In Ghana, the law of contempt is statutory. The theory, practice and procedure of the law of contempt are however based mainly on the English law of contempt. The statement that the law of contempt is statutory literally means that in this country no conduct can be punished for being in contempt of court unless there is a constitutional or statutory provision that sets up a forum for investigating and punishing it."

Black’s Law Dictionary 7th Edition, page 313 defines “contempt” as:

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