LEGAL REGULATION OF THE ACTIVITY OF COURTS OF CUSTOMARY LAW IN THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA

Elena P. Ermakova1*, Olga V. Protopopova2, Alexandr А.Pukhart3

1PhD in Law, Prof., RUDN University, RUSSIA, ermakovaep@mail.ru

2 PhD in Law, Prof., RUDN University, RUSSIA, oprotopopova@yandex.ru

3PhD in Law, Prof., RUDN University, RUSSIA, alexpukhart@yandex.ru

*Corresponding author

Abstract

The article is aimed at monitoring the reforms in the field of civil justice, arbitration and mediation in foreign countries (Ermakova et al., 2018) as part of the course "Civil Procedure of foreign countries". The article includes the following subsections: 1) Sources of legal regulation of the activities of customary law courts in modern Ghana; 2) Competences of customary courts; 3) The law applicable in settlement of disputes by the courts of the customary law of Ghana; 4) The Ashanti Traditional Tribunals in Ghana.

It is concluded that the justice administered by the courts of the customary law of Ghana cannot be considered as a relic of the past, which will soon disappear from the life of modern society. This is not the fact. In recent decades, the system of ordinary courts has proven itself to be extremely positive in Ghana. The judicial system of Ghana was formed according to the norms of the 1992 Constitution and the Courts Act 1993. Ten years later, in December 2001, the Community and circuit tribunals were abolished as unable to cope with their duties. Their place was taken by the courts of customary law. Thus, at present, part of the lower courts of Ghana is customary law courts. They are not free from shortcomings, including corruption. However, the role and importance of ordinary courts in the public life of the country should not be underestimated.

The information presented in this article may serve postgraduate students and law students a theoretical basis for the preparation of dissertation research, reports, term papers and diplomas.

Keywords: Ghana law, customary law, customary law courts, Ashanti courts.


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CITATION: Abstracts & Proceedings of SOCIOINT 2019- 6th International Conference on Education, Social Sciences and Humanities, 24-26 June 2019- İstanbul, TURKEY

ISBN: 978-605-82433-6-1