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UNIVERSITY OF MINES AND

TECHNOLOGY (UMaT), TARKWA
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES
BUSINESS LAW 1 (EC 279)

Business Law 1 - Dr EK The Legal System and Legal Environment of Business

ekaffum@umat.edu.gh
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This course is designed to familiarize students with

Course the legal environment within which business is
conducted in Ghana and internationally. It describes
Description key areas of business law, legal system, business and
corporate law, and how they relate to each other.

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1. Identify the elements of a contract;

2. Describe the structure of the Ghanaian legal system;
Course 3. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the law of
Objective contracts, its principles and application to various
business situations; and
s 4. Describe the basic principles of tort law and identify
many of the important common law torts, especially
torts that arise in the business context.

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i. The legal system and legal environment of business

ii. Law of contract – formation of contract
iii. Law of contract – termination of contract
Course iv. Sources of company law
Contents v. Regulations of companies
vi. Formation of contracts for sale of goods
vii. Business dispute resolution
viii.General principles of tort

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The Legal System and Legal

Lesson 1
Environment of Business

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At the end of this lesson you should be able to:

1. Explain the term Law
2. State the sources of law

Lesson 3. Classify law into Public and Private

Outcomes 4. Understand the legal system of a country

5. Explain the significance of the Law and the Legal
system

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1. Definition of Law
2. Sources of law in Ghana
Lesson 3. Classifications of Law

Outline 4. The Legal System of Ghana

5. Significance of the Law and the Legal System

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 There is no single definition of what is law:

 The Oxford Dictionary of Law defines law as the enforceable body

Definitio of rules that govern any society.
 Law is an enforceable rules governing relationships among
n of Law individuals and between individuals and their society (Clarkson et
al. 2009).
 The law of a particular state as the body of rules designed to
regulate human conduct within that state (Abbot, Pendlebury and
Wardman (2007).

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 There is no single definition of what is law:

 Professor Goodhart described Law as any rule of human
Definitio conduct which is recognized as being obligatory.

n of Law  Generally, Law is referred to as a body of rules designed

to regulate human conduct or a command which is
recognized as obligatory and backed by sanctions.
 The main aim of law is to achieve justice in society.

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 Law may be classified by reference to its source, i.e. the

means by which the law is brought into existence.
Sources  Sources of Law in Ghana consist of the following:
of Law in a. The Constitution (that is, the 1992 Constitution)
b. Enactments made by or under the authority of Parliament
Ghana established by the Constitution
c. Orders, Rules and Regulations made by any person or authority
under a power conferred by the Constitution.

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 Law may be classified by reference to its source, i.e. the

means by which the law is brought into existence.
Sources
of Law in  Sources of Law in Ghana consist of the following:

Ghana d. The existing law: This comprises the written and unwritten laws
of Ghana as they existed immediately before the coming into
force of the 1992 constitution, and any act, decree, law or
statutory instrument issued or made before that date.

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 Law can be classified into different categories depending

on the basis of classification such as effect, source and
nature.
Classificatio  For purposes of this course we will look at law under the
n of Law following broad classification:
a. Public Law
b. Private Law (Civil law)

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 Public Law Deals with the legal issues between the state and the
citizenry.
 The forms of Public Law are;
 Constitutional law, Administrative law, and Criminal law.
Classificatio  However, Private law deals with the rights and duties of

n of Law individuals towards each other.

 It includes the following branches:
 law of contract, law of tort, property law, company law and
employment law.

 Other classifications include; national and International law.

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 The legal system refers to the structures and processes by

which the legal machinery of a country is operated.
The  It encompasses the legal tradition, the sources of law, the
Concept of court structure and operations among others.
 A legal system of a country is made up of the following:
a Legal a. Written or unwritten constitution;
System b. Primary legislation (statutes) enacted by the legislative
body established by the constitution;

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 A legal system of a country is made up of the following:

The c. Subsidiary legislation (bye-laws) made by persons or bodies

authorized by the primary legislation;

Concept of d. Customs applied by the Courts based on traditional practices

 It is important to note that the legal system of each
a Legal country is a modified version of imported law and

System elements of the country’s unique history.

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Major Legal Systems

The The major legal systems are:

Concept of a. The common law legal system

a Legal b. The civil law legal system

c. Religious legal system
System d. Mixed legal system

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The  The Fundamental Law which governs the country is

the 1992 constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
Legal  Article 1 (2) of the 1992 Constitution provides that
System “ the Constitution shall be the supreme law of
of Ghana and any other law found to be inconsistent
with any provision of this Constitution shall, to the
Ghana extent of the inconsistency, be void.”

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The  Ghana has one legal system;

Legal  Parliament makes the laws,

 the Executive government administers the laws, and
System  the Judiciary independently interprets and applies them.

of  Ghana’s legal system is based on the common law legal

system as developed in the United Kingdom and customary
Ghana law.

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The  The legal system of Ghana is composed of

 the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice,
Legal  the Law Reform Commission,
System  Commission on Human Rights and Administrative
of Justice (CHRAJ),
 the Legal Profession, and
Ghana  the Court system.

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 The Court System in Ghana

 A court is an institution established by the Constitution or an Act
The of Parliament to settle disputes through a legal process.
 Every country has its hierarchy of the Courts with jurisdiction or
Legal powers assigned to it.

System  The system of the Courts in Ghana is provided under the

Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459) and the Courts (Amendment)
of Act, 2002 (Act 620) as follows:

Ghana  Superior Courts

 Court of Appeal
 High Court

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 The Court System in Ghana:

The  Inferior Courts
Legal  Circuit Court
 District Court
System  Juvenile Court
of  National House of Chiefs
 Regional House of Chiefs
Ghana  Traditonal Council

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 Commercial Court of Ghana

The  The Commercial Court of Ghana is a specialized court
Legal Court set up to handle only commercial disputes.

System  It was commissioned on 4th March, 2005.

 The main objective of the Commercial Court is to offer a
of speedy, effective and efficient delivery of justice in

Ghana
commercial dispute in order to promote investments, trade,
commerce and other economic activities in the country.

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 The Scope of Commercial Law

The  The body of laws that deal with the rules and institutions of commercial
transactions, including banking, commerce, contracts etc.
Legal
System  General characteristics of commercial law includes;
a. it based on contract
of b. the main sources of law are statutory and case law

Ghana c. It combines both civil remedies and criminal sanction eg. Sale of
unwholesome goods for human consumption is a criminal offence
d. It is both enabling and regulatory

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a. Helps to resolve disputes without any violence.

Significanc a. It therefore maintains order in the society.

b. Gives individuals and business owners
e of Law protection against abuse of power by the state.
and a Legal c. Facilitates assessments of legal and commercial
System roles and the allocation of protection against
risk.

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Next lesson
The End Law of contract – Formation of
Contract

Business Law 1 - Dr EK The Legal System and Legal Environment of Business