Ghana: 1) Penalty for murder and background on judicial system; 2) Information on an incident in Tarwa (or Kumasi) in February 1989
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 May 1989 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | GHA0917 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ghana: 1) Penalty for murder and background on judicial system; 2) Information on an incident in Tarwa (or Kumasi) in February 1989, 1 May 1989, GHA0917, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acaa74.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
A system of Public Tribunals was established in Ghana in 1982 wiht the proclamation of (Provisional National Defence Council) Law 24. An amendment (Law 78) to the existing proclamation in August 1984 created the National Public Tribunal which functions as a court of appeal for people convicted by Regional Public Tribunals. [ Amnesty International, "Ghana: Six Sentenced to Death", AI Index: AFR 28/02/89, (28 March 1989).] Murder is a capital offence under the Criminal Code of 1960, and a person charged with murder can be tried by the High Court or the Public Tribunals. [ Ibid., p. 2.] The burden of proof is on the defendant. [ Ibid.] The death penalty is applied in Ghana. Most death penalties are handed down by the Public Tribunals. [Amnesty International, "Ghana: Execution of 21 People", AI Index: Afr 28/15/88 (28 November 1988), p. 2.] PNDC Law 24 states that the death penalty can be handed down for "cases where the Tribunal is satisfied that very grave circumstances meriting such a penalty have been revealed." [ "Ghana: Execution of 21 People", p. 1.]
Please find attached information on the Public Tribunals (people's courts) in Ghana:
-Flinterman, Cees, Human Rights in Ghana, for the International Commission of Jurists (Utrecht: SIM, 1984)
- Howard, Rhoda. Human Rights in Commonwealth Africa, Rowman and Littlefield, 1986.
-Amnesty International, "Ghana: Execution of 21 People" (28 November 1988), and "Ghana: Six Sentenced to Death" (28 March 1989).
2) Information on an incident in Tarwa in February 1989 is not presently available to the IRBDC.