Ghana - Amnesty International

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80GHANA: END IMPUNITY THROUGH UNIVERSAL JURISDICTIONNo Safe Haven Series No. 10which provide that any state party, regardless whether a suspect has ever been in its territory, aslong as it “has made out a prima facie case,” may request the extradition of someone suspected ofgrave breaches of those Conventions. 235 If the presence of the suspected perpetrator were to benecessary for an effective investigation in a particular case and the person could not be extradited toGhana, it is very unlikely that the police would decide to open an investigation.6.3. STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS APPLICABLE TO CRIMES UNDERINTERNATIONAL LAWStatutes of limitations in Ghana do not apply to crimes under international law and only to certaincivil claims in civil proceedings.Statutes of limitations applicable to crimesGhana has been a party to the 1968 Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations forWar Crimes and Crimes against Humanity since September 2000. 236 Ghana has also been a party tothe Rome Statute since December 1999, which provides for the non-applicability of statutes oflimitations for crimes under international law listed within the Statute. 237 Independent ofconventional international law, states must not apply statutes of limitation to crimes undercustomary international law. 238 Ghana does not expressly provide for statutes of limitations forcrimes generally. Neither is there an express provision for statutes of limitation applicable to crimesunder international law.Statutes of limitation applicable to torts235First Geneva Convention, art. 49; Second Geneva Convention, art. 50; Third Geneva Convention, art. 129;Fourth Geneva Convention, art. 146.236Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity, 26November 1968, entry into force 11 November 1970 (http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/warcrimes.htm).237Rome Statute, art. 29 (Non-applicability of statute of limitations) (“The crimes within the jurisdiction of theCourt shall not be subject to any statute of limitations.”).238See, for example, Committee against Torture, Concluding observations – Spain, U.N. Doc. CAT/C/ESP/CO/5, 9December 2009, para. 21(http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&source=hp&q=%22committee+notes+that+measure+102%22+Spain&btnG=Google+Search&meta=&aq=f&oq=%22committee+notes+that+measure+102%22+Spain&fp=97531010bb3ad556) (“While it takes note of the State party’s comment that the Convention against Torture entered into force on 26June 1987, whereas the Amnesty Act of 1977 refers to events that occurred before the adoption of that Act[dating to 1936], the Committee wishes to reiterate that, bearing in mind the long-established jus cogensprohibition of torture, the prosecution of acts of torture should not be constrained by . . . the statute oflimitation.”); Prosecutor v. Furundzija, Judgment, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (10December 1998), para. 155-15 (no statute of limitations should apply to jus cogens prohibition of torture);Barrios Altos v. Peru, Judgment, Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 14 March 2001, para. 41 (provisions onprescription with respect to serious human rights violations such as torture, extrajudicial, summary or arbitraryexecution and forced disappearance are prohibited). See also Ruth Kok, Statutory Limitations in InternationalCriminal Law, London: Blackwell, 2008.Amnesty International November 2012 Index: AFR 28/004/2012
GHANA: END IMPUNITY THROUGH UNIVERSAL JURISDICTIONNo Safe Haven Series No. 1081In very limited circumstances, Ghana has a statutory limitation for civil cases involving personalinjury. 239 However, there is no express provision for statutes of limitation applicable to torts arisingfrom crimes under international law.6.4. DOUBLE CRIMINALITYGhanaian law does not expressly require that conduct which was committed abroad be a crime bothin Ghana and in the place where it was committed (double criminality) for prosecution in Ghana.However, the lack of a requirement of double criminality for the purposes of prosecution must bedistinguished from double criminality requirements in the granting of extradition requests (see belowin Section 7.1.1.3) and double criminality requirements for the purposes of mutual legal assistance(see below in Section 7.2.2.4).Whatever the merits may be for requiring double criminality with respect to conduct that onlyamounts to an ordinary crime, it has no merit when the conduct amounts to a crime underinternational law, even if the requesting state is seeking extradition to prosecute the person for anordinary crime when its legislation does not characterize the conduct as a crime under internationallaw. All states have a shared obligation to investigate and prosecute conduct that amounts to crimesunder international law, either by doing so in their own courts or by extraditing the suspect toanother state or surrendering that person to an international criminal court, and they cannot escapethis obligation by refusing to extradite on the basis of double criminality.6.5. IMMUNITIESGhana provides an absolute immunity for the President of the Republic while in office, which wouldlikely apply even if crimes under international law are at issue. 240 It also appears that Ghanarecognizes diplomatic immunities in statute. 241 It is not clear whether Ghana recognizes foreign239A statutory limitation applies for proceedings “by or against the Republic as if the Republic were a privateindividual” and “in respect of matters regulated by customary law.” See Limitation Decree, 1972 (NRCD 54),sect. 30.240The Constitution, Ch. VIII, art. 57 states:. . .“(4) Without prejudice to the provisions of article 2 of this Constitution, and subject to the operation of theprerogative writs, the President shall not, while in office, be liable for proceedings in any court for theperformance of his functions, or for any act done or omitted to be done, or purported to be done, orpurported to have been done or purporting to be done in performance of his functions, under thisConstitution or any other law.”(5) The President shall not, while in office as President, be personally liable to any civil or criminalproceedings in court.(6) Civil proceedings may be instituted against a person without three years after ceasing to be President, inrespect of anything done or omitted to be done by him in his personal capacity before or during his term ofoffice notwithstanding any period of limitation except where the proceedings had been legally barred beforehe assumed the office of President.”241See Diplomatic Immunities Act, 1962 (Act 148), incorporating Articles 22-24, 27-40 of the ViennaConvention on Diplomatic Relations into Ghanaian law. Article 31 grants complete immunity from criminalIndex: AFR 28/004/2012 Amnesty International November 2012
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CONTENTS1. INTRODUCTION ...........
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