Book on the Supreme Court launched

The Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, has launched a book on the Supreme Court of Ghana and advised retired professionals to put their memoirs into a book for posterity.

Commending a retired Supreme Court judge, Dr Justice Samuel Kofi Date-Bah, for authoring the book, Mrs Justice Wood urged others to emulate his gesture for the benefit of the future generation.

The first 100 copies of the book, titled ‘’Reflections on the Supreme Court of Ghana’’ was sold at GH¢15,000, GH¢10,000, GH¢5,000, GH¢2,000, with the lowest going for GH¢500.

Extra copies of the book were sold to the general public at GH¢360, being a discounted rate of five per cent.

The auditorium where the book was launched was filled to capacity as prominent personalities, including judges, lawyers, academics, law students and members of the public thronged the venue to witness the event.

The Launch

Describing Justice Date-Bah as intelligent, hardworking, loyal and full of wisdom, the Chief Justice was elated about the timeliness of the launch with reference to the recent exposé of corruption among 34 judges and 146 court staff.

She commended the author for his “renewed sense of purpose, diligence, attention to detail,” while serving at the Supreme Court.

She said the book was a solemn reminder that most Ghanaian judges had served Ghanaians well.

According to Mrs Justice Wood, the book had advanced the frontiers of purposive constitutional interpretation, which to her was the “trademark,” of Justice Date-Bah.

She said the book, aside educating the general public on the nuances of the Supreme Court, would serve as a useful guide to those aspiring to be Supreme Court judges.
Comparing Justice Date-Bah to the reputable Lord Denning, Mrs Justice Wood said he performed creditably on the Bench and had indeed lived up to expectation by authoring a book for posterity.

Mrs Justice Wood pleaded with him to come out with more books to further enrich the frontiers of law in Ghana.

Reviews

A Justice of the Supreme Court, Mr Justice Jones Dotse, and Professor Emeritus Albert Fiadjoe, reviewed the book.

They both paid glowing tribute to its rich educative text and were exceptionally happy with the clear, concise, simple and scholarly language used.

They were happy about the “non-lawyer approach,” he adopted in writing the book, which to them did away with legalese which could bore laypersons.

The Book

Justice Date-Bah was grateful to his wife Dr Eugenia Date-Bah, his former colleagues on the Bench, sponsors and all who contributed in diverse ways to make the launch a success.

According to Justice Date-Bah, the primary purpose of the book was to throw light on Ghana’s Supreme Court as an important national governance institution and to make a contribution to comparative law.

The 263-page book has 12 chapters, with chapters one to six discussing: The Supreme Court’s position within the court structure of Ghana, The Supreme Court as a Constitutional, Supervisory, Final Appellate, Review and Election Court.

Chapters seven to 12 touched on the other miscellaneous jurisdictions of the Supreme Court, the judicial process at the Supreme Court, some landmark decisions of the Supreme Court, the court’s contribution to the development of Ghanaian law, the Supreme Court’s broader societal role and concluding reflections.

Brief Profile of Dr Date-Bah

Justice Samuel Kofi Date-Bah’s career has spanned academic, private legal practice, international legal advisory and national judicial roles.

Born in 1943, he had his secondary education at Achimota School from 1956 to 1962. He graduated with a First Class LL.B degree from the University of Ghana in 1965 and proceeded for postgraduate studies at the Yale Law School and the London School of Economics, graduating with an LL.M in 1967 and a Ph.D in 1969 respectively from these institutions. He was called to the Ghana Bar in 1969.

He was appointed to the Legon Law Faculty as a lecturer in 1969, senior lecturer in 1974 and an Associate Professor in 1979. He was also an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Nairobi in 1979/80 and later promoted Professor and Head of the Department of Private Law at the University of Calabar (Nigeria) where he worked from 1980 to 1984. He moved later in 1984 to an international position as Special Advisor (Legal) at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London and was responsible for legal advisory and negotiating services to developing member states of the Commonwealth. He retired from the Commonwealth Secretariat in February 2003.

From September 2003 to August 2013, Justice Date-Bah was a member of the Supreme Court of Ghana and was responsible for many leading judgements.

Writer’s email: mabel.baneseh@graphic.com.gh.