|
Y
R U L I N G
On 15-07-2011, Nana Agyekum
Kessie invoked the supervisory
jurisdiction of this court for
an order of mandamus to compel
the Lands Commission to process
and register in the Land
Register a transfer of title of
his land situate and lying at
No. 1 & 6 Lindy Street,
Adjirigano, East Legon
represented by Land Title
Certificate No. TD 1236 in
volume 018 of folio 515, in
favour of Mr. Osei Akoto Kessie.
In an affidavit in support of
the application failed on
15-07-2011 and three subsequent
supplementary affidavits filed
on 07-09-2011; 09-12-2011; and
12-01-2012 the Applicant, Nana
Agyekum Kessie states the facts
he relies on in support of his
application which have not been
disputed by the Lands Commission
and also an interested party.
According to the Applicant he
owns the piece of land referred
to above. On or about
25-11-2005, he sold this land to
one Mr. Osei Akoto Kessie and
executed an assignment in his
favour. In 2009 Mr. Osei Akoto
Kessie submitted the Deed of
Assignment to the Land Registry
to secure a transfer of the said
land into his name. By a letter
of 10-03-2010 the Land
Registration Division of the
Lands Commission declined to
process and register the said
transfer in the name of Mr. Osei
Akoto Kessie on the ground that
the High Court, Accra, has in
Suit No. BMISC 332/2010
registered a Foreign Judgment
made by the Croydon County Court
of the United Kingdom, divesting
the Applicant of his interest in
the said property in favour of
his ex-wife, Elsie Dontoh
Kessie, the interested part in
this application.
Subsequently, however an Accra
High Court on 25-11-2011 granted
an application to set aside the
order for registration of the
Foreign Judgment and all
processes commenced or done by
the interested party pursuant to
the said order. The Applicant
therefore wrote several letters
to the Land Title Division, of
the Lands Commission informing
it of this development and
requested that the Lands
Commission processes the
transfer of the title in the
name of Mr. Osei Akoto Kessie
but the latter ignored the said
letters. The Applicant therefore
brought the instant application.
After the Applicant invoked the
supervisory jurisdiction of this
court the interested party on
10-08-2011 secured an order
ex-parte from this court
registering a judgment of the
High Court of Justice (Family
Division) London, England which
was delivered on 24-03-2011.
This order was served on the
Lands Commission to prevent the
latter from registering the
assignment of the land in favour
of Mr. Osei Akoto Kessie for the
order of the English Court was
to the effect that the land in
issue was not to be transferred
to any person other than the
interested party.
The Applicant herein on
06-12-2011 got this court to set
aside its order of 10-08-2011
registering the judgment of the
English High Court. By this
court ruling on 06-12-2011 there
is therefore no legal impediment
on the Lands Commission
registering the assignment of
the land in dispute. Yet the
Lands Commission has failed or
refused to do so.
Judicial review power is adopted
by the Superior Courts to
supervise the exercise of public
power. Any person who is
aggrieved by the acts or
omissions by a government
authority such as a statutory
body may apply to the High Court
for judicial review to quash any
decision because it has violated
his rights or may obtain a
mandatory order to compel the
authority to do its duty or stop
it from acting illegally.
An order of mandamus is one of
the remedies obtainable in an
application for judicial
review. This order compels
public authorities to perform
their statutory duties. In the
instant case the Applicant seeks
an order of mandamus to compel
the Lands Commission to effect
the transfer of his title in the
land in issue to the purchaser.
It is not in dispute that the
Lands Commission is a statutory
body established by the Lands
Commissions Act, 2008 (Act 767)
pursuant to Article 258 of the
1992 Constitution. Section 5(e)
of Act 767 mandatorily requires
the Lands Commission to register
deeds and instruments affecting
land throughout the country.
The Lands Commission thus
performs public functions and is
amenable to an order of
mandamus.
Indeed the only problem the
Lands Commission had from the
inception of this dispute was
the registration by this court
of Croydon County Court judgment
of London and the High Court
judgment of England which orders
that the title in the land in
issue be transferred to the
interested party and no other
person. However once this court
on 06-12-2011 set aside the
registration of those two
foreign judgments, there is no
longer any valid impediment in
the performance of the legal
obligation of the Lands
Commission to register the
assignment of the property in
the name of Mr. Osei Akoto
Kessie.
Accordingly I would grant the
application that is to say an
order of mandamus to compel the
Lands Commission, to process and
register in the Lands Register
the transfer of the title of the
Applicant in the land in issue
to Mr. Osei Akoto Kessie.
The application is granted as
prayed.
COUNSEL:
-
MR. YAW OPPONG FOR APPLICANT
-
MRS. SYLVIA ADUSU FOR LANDS
COMMISSION
-
SOPHIA AMISSAH-LARYEA FOR
INTERESTED PARTY
(SGD.) UUTER PAUL DERY
JUSTICE OF THE HIGH COURT |
