A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO CRIMINAL PRACTICE IN GHANA

In this brief write-up, I have provided a simple approach to familiarising yourself with criminal law practice. The approach is meant for law students and new practitioners who may not have any experience in criminal prosecution or defence. For more details on specific topics, you can follow this blog on Instagram @criminal_law_blog_gh. I hope you find it useful.

Criminal law practice is a specialised area that requires an appreciation and understanding of the criminal justice system. For law students, the law school usually provides course outlines or manuals with a detailed guide on specific areas that the course will cover and the relevant sources of law. To appreciate this practice area, a lawyer or aspiring lawyer must be familiar with the following: 

A: Key players or stakeholders in the criminal justice system, their powers and roles (police, courts, attorney-general etc.); you should know the following:
- their mandate or source of power (constitution or statute)
- their roles
- their limitations

B: Basic concepts – e.g. jurisdiction, constitutional bases of criminal law, double jeopardy, bail, nolle prosequi, withdrawal, sentencing etc. You should know the following:
- what it is
- why (the rationale)
- when (at which stage of procedure it comes into play)
- how (the process)
- any legal effect
- any types (e.g. bail has bail pending trial and bail pending appeal) 

C: Trials and procedures – summary trials, trials on indictment, committal proceedings, interlocutory applications, interlocutory and final appeals, juvenile justice, pre-trial procedures, procedures within trials such as a mini trial etc. You must know:
- which court has jurisdiction for which procedure.
- the legal effect of steps taking during proceedings (e.g. under section 184(5) of Act 30, a discharge during committal is not a bar to a subsequent charge in respect of the same facts).
- For students, you should map out the exact procedures (in clear steps, noting who does what and why) in their notes adding all the relevant sections especially since some of the sections may not necessarily follow e.g. committal proceedings are not just found in part 4 of Act 30 but also in the Sixth Schedule.
- Pay attention to legal requirements as to time with respect to particular processes or procedures.

D: Drafting
- Know the difference between a motion (which is always supported by an affidavit setting out reasons for the application) and a petition / notice of appeal (which sets out grounds for appealing).
- Know which court a particular process can go to.
- You must know exactly how any process is drafted i.e. the form of the process because every single information on a process is important; pay attention to form in precedents provided.
- For charge sheets and bills of indictment, it is imperative to know what other documents are added (e.g. brief facts for a charge sheet and summary of evidence and list of exhibits for a bill of indictment)
- For charge sheets and bills of indictment, it is also imperative to revisit the substantive law on offences; you must know the name of the offence, the section that criminalises the offence which is also referred to as the offence creating section (e.g. section 46 for murder and not 47 because 47 merely defines it) and the elements of the offence which is what is used in drafting the particulars of the charge)

E: Appreciate the differences and similarities between related concepts (e.g. bail pending trial v bail pending appeal; withdrawal v nolle prosequi; jury trial v trial with assessors; evidence on commission v preservation of testimony; lunacy of accused v defence of lunacy).

Writing submissions or answering questions
· AIRAC is your primary guide. It stands for:
A - Area of law
I – Legal issues in contention (usually found in the questions set)
R – Relevant law (constitution, legislation, case law etc.  – state the source of the law before adding the content of the law itself)
A – Application of law to the facts in a question
C – Conclusion based on the analysis made
It is crucial that after stating the law, lawyers remember to apply the law to the set facts in the question to resolve the exact issues raised before concluding. A disassociation between the two leaves the questions unanswered. 

A good source of learning for the application of this method of answering questions is case law. A good judgement begins by setting out the facts, identifying the legal issues, setting out the relevant law based on which the issues have emerged, applying the law to the factual situation before coming to reasonable conclusions that resolve the legal issues. 
 
Other learning tips for students:
- Read and brief all cases. You may not have enough time to read them again.
- Read and make notes of texts and other reading materials.
- Revise after lectures to maintain the understanding from class.
- Read each relevant law in any manual provided even if not addressed in class during lectures.
- Review past questions to give you an idea of what is required of students; it also gives a sense of direction to your studies.
- Attend lectures and tutorials if any, because a lack of understanding may lead to a failure to appreciate the course (as a prospective legal practitioner) and may affect your ability to answer exam questions properly.
- Ask questions in class if anything is not clear.
- Practice is essential so work on assignments give, you can attempt past questions and show same to your tutorial master; make notes and ask for help if you need it.