Edited by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana and an Associate Editor who is a Senior Partner in one of the leading law firms in Ghana, this book is intended as a practical guide for lawyers and other professionals who advise on corporate affairs in Ghana.

The book can be regarded, in effect, as a sequel to the work undertaken by the Business Law Reform Committee of Experts, set up by the Attorney-General in 2008. Indeed, five contributors to the book were members of that Committee. The Committee was charged with the responsibility of making recommendations for the reform of Ghana’s business laws to ease the doing of business in the country. It decided to concentrate on company law in the first instance. The result of the Committee’s deliberations was the enactment of two important business statutes: The Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992) and the Corporate Insolvency and Restructuring Act, 2020 (Act 1015).

After the enactment of these statutes, some members of the Committee considered that it would be helpful to practitioners of company law and administration in Ghana and investors in Ghanaian business, if the insights gained during the Committee’s deliberations were distilled into a practical book, in concert with other Ghanaian company law specialists, with the objective of producing a standard book of reference on Ghana’s corporate law. The Editor therefore invited these members of the Committee and other selected specialists to contribute to this book in two volumes. Volume 1 of this book discusses the law and practice relating to companies in Ghana, while volume 2 will focus on corporate insolvency and restructuring. The contributors hope that the two volumes will together contribute to a better practical appreciation of the framework for doing business in Ghana.

Volume 1 begins with a chapter on the Concept and History of the Ghanaian Company, followed by a chapter on the Sources of the Company Law of Ghana, and then by a discussion of the Incidents, Attributes and Consequences of Incorporation. The nuts and bolts of incorporation in Ghana are next discussed in the chapter titled the Mechanics of Company Formation and Registration. The Core Innovations in the Companies Act, 2019 and the Office of the Registrar of Companies and its Governance receive attention next. Volume 1 then proceeds to tackle the core issues in corporate law and practice (including: corporate governance and sanctions; raising of capital by companies; reduction of capital; debentures and transfer of debentures; corporate management; requirements relating to beneficial ownership; litigation by companies; protection against illegality, oppression and unfair prejudice etc.) and concludes with a chapter on Piercing the Corporate Veil (Looking Beyond the Legal Persona).

It is hoped that this book will succeed in making Ghanaian company law and corporate insolvency law more accessible to the professionals who practise it and to even the general public.