Ghana - Amnesty International

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100 GHANA: END IMPUNITY THROUGH UNIVERSAL JURISDICTIONNo Safe Haven Series No. 10has signed, prohibits extradition when the requested state has granted an amnesty for the offenceand it would have otherwise had competence to prosecute the offence under its own criminal law. 328However, these instruments are not enforceable under Ghanaian law without implementinglegislation (See discussion above in Section 6.10 regarding the prohibition of amnesties and similarmeasures of impunity).7.1.1.10. Other obstaclesAd hoc court. Under the ECOWAS Extradition Convention, which Ghana has signed, extradition toanother West African state may be refused if the person sought “has been sentenced, or would beliable to be tried, in the requesting [s]tate by an extraordinary or Ad Hoc Court or Tribunal”. 329 Tothe extent this provision applies to requests for surrender by ad hoc International Criminal Tribunalsfor the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, then the provision is an obstacle to international justice.However, to the extent that it prohibits extradition to a state that has a special court that hasreplaced an ordinary court with regular procedures, then it is a human rights safeguard. 330 Withoutbeing incorporated into national legislation, however, this provision is not enforceable under the lawsof Ghana.Territorial requirement. For active extradition, there is no express requirement under Ghanaian lawthat an accused has been in Ghana at any point before Ghana can make an extradition request.Therefore, Ghana can play an effective role in enforcing international criminal law by being ableto open investigations and seeking extradition of suspects to stand trial in Ghana, even if thosesuspects have never been to Ghana.7.1.2. SAFEGUARDSThe Extradition Act expressly provides for only one human rights safeguard discussed below. The Acthas a speciality rule, which limits the scope of crimes for which Ghana and other states may exerciseextradition to those offences listed in their extradition requests. Aside from this consideration, theExtradition Act does not expressly provide human rights safeguards with respect to the granting orrequesting of extradition. However, it is possible that Ghana may refuse extradition in cases wherethe person to be extradited faces an unfair trial or torture based on the Constitution’s fundamentalhuman rights guarantees.7.1.2.1. Fair trialThere is no express prohibition in Ghanaian law of the extradition of a suspect or convicted personon the grounds that he or she risks facing an unfair trial, although this may be implied from the fair328ECOWAS Extradition Convention, art. 16.329ECOWAS Extradition Convention, art. 8.330See Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, adopted by the Seventh United Nations Congresson the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders held at Milan from 26 August to 6 September 1985and endorsed by General Assembly resolutions 40/32 of 29 November 1985 and 40/146 of 13 December 1985(“Everyone shall have the right to be tried by ordinary courts or tribunals using established legal procedures.Tribunals that do not use the duly established procedures of the legal process shall not be created to displace thejurisdiction belonging to the ordinary courts or judicial tribunals.”).Amnesty International November 2012 Index: AFR 28/004/2012
GHANA: END IMPUNITY THROUGH UNIVERSAL JURISDICTIONNo Safe Haven Series No. 10101trial guarantees in the Constitution. 331 The only implicit prohibition in Ghanaian law on the surrenderof a suspect or convicted person on the grounds that he or she risks facing an unfair trial is found inSection 21 of the Extradition Act. Section 21 provides that a District Magistrate may refuse or placelimits on the backing of an arrest warrant issued in a foreign country because it appears to theMagistrate that the case is trivial in nature, because the application for return was made in badfaith or not otherwise in the interests of justice, or if endorsing the application would be unjust,oppressive, or impose too severe a punishment on the person sought. 332The non-binding London Scheme provides that extradition is precluded if a competent authority issatisfied that these considerations are at issue; 333 it also permits states to refuse extradition on thegrounds that the person sought has been tried in absentia. 334 The ECOWAS Extradition Convention,which Ghana has signed, provides that extradition will not be granted to other West African states ifthe person sought has not received, or would not receive, “the minimum guarantees in criminalproceedings, as contained in Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights”. 335 TheConvention also permits states to refuse extradition on the grounds that the person sought has beentried in absentia if the requested state believes that the proceedings leading to the judgment did notsatisfy the minimum rights of defendants. 336 This instrument is not enforceable in Ghana withoutimplementing legislation.7.1.2.2. Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishmentThere is no express prohibition in Ghanaian law of extradition of a suspect or convicted person onthe ground that he or she might face torture or other ill-treatment, although this may be implicit inthe Constitution’s prohibition of torture. 337The non-binding London Scheme does not have this human rights safeguard. Although the ECOWASExtradition Convention expressly prohibits extradition of a person that has been, or would be,subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, 338 this safeguard is notenforceable in Ghana because it has not been incorporated into national legislation.7.1.2.3. Death penaltyThere is no express prohibition in Ghanaian law of extradition of a suspect or convicted person on331See 1992 Constitution, Ch. V, art. 19.332Extradition Act, sect. 21.333See London Scheme, para. 13 (a) (ii), (b).334See London Scheme, para. 14 (a).335ECOWAS Extradition Convention, art. 5.336However, extradition should be granted if the requesting state guarantees the person sought a retrialsafeguarding the rights of defence. ECOWAS Extradition Convention, art. 14.337See 1992 Constitution, Ch. V, art. 15 (2).338ECOWAS Extradition Convention, art. 5.Index: AFR 28/004/2012 Amnesty International November 2012
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7.2.1.5. Recognition and enforcemen
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Ghana - Amnesty International

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