Principle Archive

It is trite law that the court should not grant a relief not sought by the parties. Where averments do not relate to any relief sought,…

The five ways of proving title to land are disjunctive. A party who proves any one of them is entitled to ownership of the land.

It is a misconception that prior consent of the Governor must be sought and obtained before a deed of assignment is executed. In practice, the Governor's…

Equity regards as done that which ought to be done. A party in possession under an agreement for a lease has an equitable interest, which he…

Where the Court of Appeal wrongly evaluates evidence and arrives at a wrong conclusion not borne out by the evidence, the Supreme Court will intervene on…

A party relying on traditional history must plead a continuous chain of devolution without gaps. The history must show how the land, by a system of…

When communal ownership of land is established or known to exist, it must be presumed to remain the customary practice, particularly throughout the coast of West…

An individual or family or quarter in a community laying claim to the ownership of any portion of communal land must discharge the onus of proving…

If the conclusion reached by the court below is correct, that cannot be affected by the fact that it was arrived at on insufficient or even…

A court can exercise jurisdiction only over parties before it and strictly in respect of the case between them. It cannot make pronouncements concerning persons who…

Concurrent findings of the two lower courts will not be interfered with unless there is a compelling reason to do so.

A trial judge has a mandatory duty to make findings of fact on rival conflicting traditional evidence adduced before him. He cannot shy away from that…