Ghana School of Law PLC: Civil Procedure (GLC) study plan

Map the jurisdictional hierarchy of Ghana's courts under the Courts Act 1993 (Act 459) and the 1992 Constitution, writing out the monetary and subject-matter limits of the High Court, Circuit Court, District Court and the specialized divisions.

Draft a one-page checklist distinguishing personal jurisdiction, subject-matter jurisdiction, and territorial venue, with the statutory or constitutional source cited for each.

Explain in writing when the High Court's supervisory jurisdiction under Article 140 and its unlimited original jurisdiction under Article 140 interact with lower-court competence, and identify three leading scenarios where lack of jurisdiction can be raised at any stage.

Practise drafting the endorsement and heading of a writ of summons for a simple debt claim in the High Court, including the correct venue endorsement and the address for service.

List the pre-action steps and limitation periods that must be cleared before issuing a writ in contract, tort and land matters under the Limitation Act 1972 (NRCD 54).

Draft a statement of claim that pleads material facts without evidence, and annotate each paragraph with the pleading rule it satisfies under the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2004 (C.I. 47).

Identify and correct five common pleading defects (argumentative pleading, pleading evidence, vagueness, embarrassing pleading, failure to plead material facts) in sample paragraphs you write yourself.

Construct a joinder analysis for a multi-party land dispute, deciding who must be joined as a necessary party, who may be joined as a proper party, and who should be struck out.

Draft a counterclaim and a reply to a defence, checking that the counterclaim is properly connected to the original cause of action and that no new cause of action is smuggled in without leave.

Write a short application for amendment of pleadings, stating the stage at which leave is required and the principles the court applies.

Produce a service matrix covering personal service, substituted service, service on corporations, service out of the jurisdiction and service on the State, with the rule and mode for each.

Draft an application for substituted service supported by an affidavit that sets out the attempts made and the proposed mode of service.

Compute the timelines for appearance and for applying for judgment in default, and write out the conditions a plaintiff must satisfy before default judgment is entered in a liquidated and an unliquidated claim.

Draft a motion to set aside a default judgment, identifying the grounds (irregularity, non-service, sufficient reason) and the affidavit evidence needed to support each.

Explain in writing the difference between judgment in default of appearance and default of defence, and when the court must order a hearing on damages.

Draft a notice of motion and a supporting affidavit that comply with C.I. 47, including the heading, the reliefs sought, the grounds, and the jurat.

Identify the defects that render an affidavit incompetent (conclusions rather than facts, hearsay without a stated source, failure to exhibit documents, defective jurat) and rewrite a defective affidavit you compose yourself.

Distinguish interlocutory applications by motion from applications by originating motion, and state which procedural route applies to each of ten listed applications.

Draft an ex parte application for an interim injunction together with the undertaking as to damages and the affidavit disclosing material facts, and note the duty of full and frank disclosure.

Explain in writing how a party responds to an interlocutory application: affidavit in opposition, supplementary affidavit, and the limits on raising new matters in a reply.

Draft a summary judgment application under C.I. 47, stating the conditions for its use, the nature of the defence that will defeat it, and the procedure for the hearing.

Distinguish summary judgment from judgment on admissions and from disposal on a preliminary point of law, and write a short note on when each is strategically preferable.

Prepare a trial plan for a hypothetical case: list of issues, list of witnesses, list of documents, and a chronology, each cross-referenced to the pleadings.

Draft examination-in-chief questions, a cross-examination outline and a re-examination plan for one witness, respecting the rules on leading questions and refreshing memory.

Write out the procedure for tendering documents and objects in evidence, the grounds of objection, and how the court rules on admissibility.

Classify the orders a court can make (interlocutory, final, mandatory, prohibitory, declaratory) and draft one specimen order of each type with correct recitals and operative terms.

Draft an application for enforcement of a judgment, choosing correctly between judgment debtor summons, garnishee proceedings, writ of fieri facias and charging order for a given set of facts.

Explain in writing the procedure for garnishee proceedings from the order nisi to the order absolute, and identify who must be served and what the garnishee can raise in answer.

Draft a notice to show cause in judgment debtor summons and a garnishee order nisi, checking the statutory basis and the affidavit requirements for each.

Write a note on the effect of a stay of execution, when it may be granted, and how it interacts with an appeal already filed.

Map the appellate routes from District Court to Circuit Court to Court of Appeal to Supreme Court, stating the time limits, the leave requirements and the grounds on which each appeal lies.

Draft a notice of appeal and grounds of appeal that are specific and arguable, and distinguish grounds of fact, grounds of law and mixed grounds.

Draft an application for extension of time to appeal and an application for stay of execution pending appeal, each with a supporting affidavit addressing the relevant principles.

Explain in writing the difference between an appeal and judicial review, and when review by the same court or a higher court is available.

Work through the costs rules in C.I. 47: when costs follow the event, how the court exercises discretion, the basis of assessment, and how a bill of costs is drawn for taxation.

Explain in writing the legal framework for alternative dispute resolution in Ghana, including the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act 2010 (Act 798), and identify which civil disputes are referable to arbitration or mediation and which are not.

Draft an application to refer a matter to arbitration or to stay proceedings pending arbitration, stating the conditions the court considers.

Draft one prerogative writ application each for certiorari, mandamus and prohibition, identifying the decision challenged, the jurisdictional error alleged and the relief sought.

Explain in writing the limits of judicial review: the exclusivity of the remedy, the requirement of a decision by a public body, and the effect of an alternative remedy.

Write a case management plan for the whole syllabus, allocating revision blocks to the heaviest domains and scheduling two full timed mock papers.