Nana Kwatare Nyarko V. Nana Kwaku Akowuah (1954)

LawGlobal Hub Judgment Report – West African Court of Appeal

Jurisdiction—Lack ofjurisdiction—Nullity ofjudgment.
Practice and Procedure—Review of a judgment which was a nullity.

Facts

S. gave a judgment presiding in the Chief Commissioner’s Court on a day before which his appointment to the Court had lapsed. Later, when he was re-appointed, he called the parties, recorded the fact that he had had no jurisdiction when giving that judgment, and said that now his jurisdiction was reinstated he would review that judgment under Order 41, rule 1, in Schedule 3 to the Courts Ordinance (Cap. 4); and without any hearing and in spite of the appellant’s protest that he had appealed from that judgment, S. delivered the identical judgment which he had given before.

When the case came from the Chief Commissioner’s Court to the T-and Court (by operation of law) the Judge ruled that S. meant that his first judgment was a nullity and that he was delivering the one and only judgment in the case. From this ruling the appellant appealed again.

Held

The second judgment was expressly stated to be given on review of the first; but as the first was given without jurisdiction, it was a nullity and the second judgment consequently did not exist; therefore the case was pending in the Land Court and should be entertained there.

Ruling of the Land Court reversed.