Introduction: Filing a petition to the Attorney-General (AG) is a formal way for individuals or organizations involved in criminal matters to request legal action or intervention. Many readers may not know how to structure such a petition, what information to include, or how to present it professionally. To make this process easier, we have created … Continue reading Template for Petitions to the Attorney-General in Criminal Cases
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Free e-book: Children and the Criminal Justice System in Ghana
Recent incidents of violence in some high schools across Ghana have renewed public concern about how young people come into contact with the law. These events highlight the urgent need for accessible education on juvenile justice and practical guidance for schools, parents and communities. Criminal Law Blog Ghana is therefore excited to announce the release … Continue reading Free e-book: Children and the Criminal Justice System in Ghana
Bail in Ghana: What Everyone Should Know Especially Sureties
Bail is one of those legal terms that gets used often, yet few people outside the courtroom truly understand what it means in Ghana. Many assume it simply involves paying money to the police or the court to secure the release of a loved one. In practice, however, our bail system operates quite differently. In this … Continue reading Bail in Ghana: What Everyone Should Know Especially Sureties
The Effect of Legislative Repeals in Criminal Justice
Introduction The purpose of this article is to educate readers on the effect of a repeal on pending criminal trials. I also consider the effect of a repeal on the prescribed sentence of a repealed criminal offence. The end of a criminal statute or an offence creating provision in a statute can be by way … Continue reading The Effect of Legislative Repeals in Criminal Justice
What happens after an arrest?
Common to all democratic states, every person is entitled to his right to personal liberty and freedom of movement. This right, just like any other human right, has limits. In article 14(1) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, the right to liberty can be curtailed when a person is suspected to have committed a criminal … Continue reading What happens after an arrest?
Repeat Applications in Criminal Procedure
Repeat applications are recognized and permitted in criminal procedure and are more common with bail applications. What is a repeat application and when can one file same? Adjei, JA eloquently set out the basis for repeat applications in the Court of Appeal case of Paul Larbie & 3 Others v The Republic [2020] Crim.LR 532 (full … Continue reading Repeat Applications in Criminal Procedure
Fynn v. The Republic: Analyzing the Grounds for Bail Pending Appeal
Bail pending appeal is one form of bail in Ghana's criminal jurisprudence; others are bail pending trial and police enquiry bail bond. Although bail is generally dependent on an authority being satisfied that a person will appear when required to, bail pending appeal has special grounds developed from previous decisions, and aptly summarized by Taylor, … Continue reading Fynn v. The Republic: Analyzing the Grounds for Bail Pending Appeal
Filing Criminal Appeals
Every criminal law practitioner, whether prosecuting or defending, may have heard this statement: “Appeals are filed at the registry of the court below”. This may be true for criminal appeals to the Court of Appeal[1] and the Supreme Court.[2] But is this the case for substantive criminal appeals from the Circuit and District Courts to the High … Continue reading Filing Criminal Appeals
Part 2: Prosecutors as Safeguards of Suspects’ Innocence
This is part two of a two-part series on prosecutorial safeguards of suspects' innocence. In the first part of this post, I explained how the criminal justice system is structured to allow prosecutors to safeguard the innocence of suspects. I looked at two stages of the criminal process: arrest, end of investigations and first arraignment. Prosecutorial … Continue reading Part 2: Prosecutors as Safeguards of Suspects’ Innocence
Part 1: Prosecutors as Safeguards of Suspects’ Innocence
A few days ago, an American friend mentioned that she can never be a prosecutor because of the danger of convicting an innocent person. I explained to her that in the common law system, with its specific criminal justice arrangement, there are ways to ensure that innocent persons are set free. Prosecutors have the capacity … Continue reading Part 1: Prosecutors as Safeguards of Suspects’ Innocence
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