From Westminster to Makola. The Wrong Turn we Took

Abstract or Introduction

In 1957, Ghana attained independence from the British. Upon their arrival on the radiant shores of Ghana, the British did not hesitate in imposing their customs and principles on the autochthonous people. One of the many things impressed on the indigenes was the English Common Law System. The English Common Law would forever alter and shape Ghana’s jurisprudence. This article will trace the advent and the adoption of the Common Law System in Ghana.

Westminster is a city in London which most people refer to as the United Kingdom’s legal capital because of its proximity to the Supreme Court and Parliament. Its Ghanaian counterpart is Makola, a town in the Nation’s capital which has always been the legal hub of the Country. Ghana’s premier law school, Supreme Court and lower courts are all located within this small, yet important town that bustles with life.

Ghana, once considered the gateway to Africa has fallen short in its quest to develop and build its Legal System. We seem to have veered off the route that our colonial masters plied. This is not to say that we should have followed and copied blindly the steps taken by the monarchy that once governed us.
Thus, the question I seek to ask is: What was the wrong turn we took, on our journey from Westminster to Makola?