THE REPUBLIC V. OPANYIN KWESI PRAH & 5 ORS EX PARTE: OPANYIN KWAME NYARKO AND OBAAPANYIN EKUA AMPIAAH

RULING

INTRODUCTION:

There is an emerging wrong practice by which parties and lawyers alike employ contempt proceedings as either a knee-jerk or emotional reaction to distasteful situations or occurrences that confront them which are orchestrated by their opponents in legal suits or by would-be suitors. To my mind, such proceedings must not be allowed by the courts to fester but must be nipped in the bud as far as it is practicable so to do.

Contempt of court can occur in different forms and shapes. In Re Effiduase Stool Affairs (No. 2); Republic v. Oduro Numapau, President of the National House of Chiefs & Others; Ex parte Ameyaw II (No. 2)[1998-99] SCGLR 639, the Supreme Court noted that:

“Contempt of Court was constituted by an act or conduct that tended to bring the authority and administration of the law into disrespect or disregard or to interfere with, or prejudice parties, litigants or their witnesses in respect of pending proceedings.”

What constitutes contempt in Ghana has been s…