The Property Law of Ghana

This book consists of six related but separate parts combined in thirteen continuous chapters of land law. The thirteen chapters are fundamentally concerned with the development of the customary land law through the Ghanaian courts. In the first part, the main concepts underlying land law as well as the general characteristics of land are traced and analysed. The second segment deals with the law relating to interests in land, including modes of acquisition and loss of title. Tenancies and pledges are examined in their own right. Part 3 considers the nature of the customary law family, focusing on the composition of the family, the rights of members and the role of the head of family. In Part 4, rules regarding transfer of interests are considered within the general body of case law. This is followed logically by a consideration of the applicable doctrines of English law in Part 5. The final segment directs analysis at the impact of state legislative activity on customary law.

The rules of customary law were developed from pre-colonial times. It might be thought that the rules might be full of hoary anachronisms. The continuous decisions of the courts and the full impact of legislative activity have been the guiding hand in steering the customary land law in consonance with social and economic developments. No one argues that the customary law is in need of purgation. Principles derived from English equity jurisprudence have steadily worked their way into customary notions, particularly in the form of acquiescence, introducing equity’s peculiar element of fairness into the relevant customary law rules. Some of the perceived harshness or inadequacy of the customary land law have also been cured by legislation.

The present work is not a mere rearrangement of emphasis of the land law. I have attempted to bring into one coherent view the ideas expressed by the established jurists. The law we work with is constantly changing. It is constantly between the hammer and the anvil, changed and reshaped by judicial and statutory intervention. New answers are found as problems without judicial precedent press for statutory solution. Where authoritative answers cannot be found for such problems, I have relied on the evidence of actual social practice. Overall this book captures the restlessness of the indigenous law and the constant push for change. Several of the topics that dominated the old texts are receding. Statute law now overshadows many areas of the customary law.

There is considerable imbalance in the rendering of the customary land law of Ghana. Although this is a book on the customary land law of Ghana, a disproportionate number of both actual examples and case-law are drawn from southern Ghana. It reflects the general lacuna in current literature. This deficiency points to the urgent necessity of prosecuting a similar task in relation to the customary law of northern Ghana.