The Supreme Court has overturned the Court of Appeal’s decision that prevented the High Court from investigating the circumstances surrounding the revocation of GN Bank’s operation license by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
In a unanimous ruling by the five-member panel of the Apex Court, presided over by Justice Gabriel Pwamang, it was determined that the Court of Appeal had erred in its judgment.
Back in June 2022, the Court of Appeal had ruled that the matter of GN Bank’s license revocation could only be addressed through arbitration, despite the High Court asserting its jurisdiction to investigate the issue.
Challenging this decision, Dr. Nduom and his legal team, led by Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, appealed to the Supreme Court.
On July 19, 2023, the panel, comprising Justice Pwamang, Justice Mariama Owusu, Justice Omoro Amadu Tanko, Justice Barbara Ackah-Yensu, and Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu, ruled that the applicants had alternative ways to address their grievances, including going through the Court.
The Supreme Court concluded that the Bank of Ghana had prematurely argued that the matter could only be resolved through arbitration, as the High Court had the authority to investigate the case.
“It was our view that the High Court was right to dismiss the rights of jurisdiction and to investigate the complaint,” filed by Dr. Nduom and his companies.
The apex Court said, Court of appeal erred in its ruling on June 7 2022 and the “ruling of Court of Appeal is hereby set aside.”
The decision of the Court of Appeal from June 7, 2022 that the termination of GN Bank’s license by the BoG may only be resolved through arbitration was contested by Dr. Nduom, a businessman who also doubles as the founder of the Progressive People’s Party.
Background
The Bank of Ghana requested on June 2, 2017, that the case brought by Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, Coconut Groove Beach Resort Conference Centre Limited, and Groupe Nduom challenging the Bank of Ghana’s decision to revoke the license of GN Bank be referred to arbitration. A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal unanimously upheld this request.
The Court determined that arbitration, not the court, is the proper forum for such a dispute under section 141 of the Banks and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016, Act 930.
The Court further declared that Dr. Nduom and the other applicants had misrepresented their appeal of the Bank of Ghana’s ruling as a human rights claim.
As a result, the court suspended the High Court’s proceedings and submitted the case to the Ghana Arbitration Center.
However, Dr. Nduom and his attorneys, under the direction of Dr. Justice Srem Sai, filed an application at the Supreme Court to overturn the Court of Appeal’s ruling because they were unhappy with it.
Justice Henry Kwoffie was one of three judges on the Court of Appeal bench, along with Justice Eric Baah and Justice Novisi Ayine.