The options available in Ghana to identify the asset position of another party are as follows:

• Immovable Property – Conducting a search at the Lands Commission. All deeds and instruments affecting land are registered with the Lands Commission established by the Lands Commission Act, 2008 (Act 767). This information is publicly available.
• Immovable and Moveable Property – Conducting a search at the Collateral Registry, where all credit agreements that create a security interest in property must be registered under the Borrowers and Lenders Act, 2020 (Act 1052). The information is publicly available.
• Vehicles – Conducting a search at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) using the vehicle registration number to identify ownership of vehicles. The information is publicly available.
• Examination of Judgment Debtor in Court – A judgment creditor may also apply to the court for a judgment debtor to be examined orally on the question of whether any debts are owed to the judgment debtor and whether the judgment debtor has any property or other means of satisfying the judgment.
• Garnishee Proceedings – These may be commenced by a judgment creditor to compel a third party (garnishee) to provide or furnish information to the court regarding money held by that third person on behalf of or belonging to the judgment debtor. The information solicited is usually not publicly available.

Freezing orders in the form of interlocutory injunctions or an order for interim preservation of property may be granted on application by a party to the court to prevent the dissipation or loss of property which is the subject matter of a suit before the court.

• Judgment obtained in default of appearance;
• judgment obtained in default of defence;
• judgment obtained on admission;
• summary judgment;
• interlocutory judgment; and
• final judgment after trial.

The options and procedures for enforcing a domestic judgment are mainly found in the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (C.I. 47).

Execution of a judgment commences with the filing and service of an entry of judgment on the unsuccessful party. After service of the entry of judgment, the successful party may, upon paying the appropriate fee to the registry of the court, attach a property or other asset of the judgment debtor for auction by the issuance of a writ of fieri facias or, as appropriate. The successful party may also file an application for leave to issue any of the relevant writs of execution or obtain other relevant order required to enforce the judgment.

Enforcement of Judgment for Payment of Money

A judgment or order for the payment of money, not being a judgment or order for the payment of money into court, may be enforced by one or more of the following means:

• writ of fieri facias;
• garnishee proceedings;
• a charging order;
• the appointment of a receiver; and/or
• where the order is made for payment of the money within a specific time, by an order of committal or a writ of sequestration.

Enforcement of Judgment for Possession of Immovable Property

A judgment or order for the recovery of possession of immovable property may be enforced by one or more of the following means:

• a writ of possession; and/or
• if the order or judgment gave a specific time for possession, an order of committal or a writ of sequestration.

Enforcement of Judgment for Delivery of Goods

A judgment or order for the delivery of goods, which does not give a person against whom the judgment is given the alternative of paying the assessed value of the goods, may be enforced by one or more of the following means:

• a writ of delivery to recover the goods without alternative provision for recovery of the assessed value; and/or
• if the order or judgment gave a specific time for delivery, by an order of committal or a writ of sequestration.

Administration Proceedings or Official Liquidation of Company

Where a company is unable to pay its debts, the creditors, shareholders and directors of the company may take proceedings to put the company into administration or official liquidation under the Corporate Insolvency and Restructuring Act, 2020 (Act 1015). The administrator is required to transparently assess the financial position of the company and prioritise the fair distribution of available assets among creditors. In the case of official liquidation, the liquidator is required to recover all debts owed the company, realise the assets of the company and distribute all proceeds and monies recovered in accordance with the ranking provided by Act 1015.

Writ of Fieri Facias

The purpose of a writ of fieri facias is for the attachment, seizure, and sale of movable and immovable property of a judgment debtor, sufficient to satisfy the amount of judgment debt owed (including post-judgment interest) to the judgment creditor.

Procedure

Upon paying the appropriate fee, the judgment creditor files an application ex-parte supported by an affidavit for leave to issue a writ of fieri facias.

On the return date fixed by the registrar for hearing the application before the court, the judgment creditor or his lawyer must appear before the judge to move the application.

Upon hearing the judgment creditor, the court may grant the application for the issue of the writ.

There are several methods of putting the writ of fieri facias into effect:

• movable property in possession of the judgment debtor – by actual seizure with the property being kept in the custody of the registrar until sale;
• money or negotiable instrument – by actual seizure with the money or instrument being deposited in court by the registrar and held subject to the further order of the court;
• movable property to which the judgment debtor is entitled subject to a lien or right of some other person to the immediate possession of the property – by delivering to the person in possession a written order signed by the registrar of the court prohibiting the person in possession from giving over the property to the judgment debtor;
• shares in any body corporate – by a written order signed by the registrar of the court prohibiting the person in whose name the shares are held from making any transfer of the shares or receiving payment of any dividends of the shares and prohibiting the manager, secretary or other proper officer of the body corporate from making such payment until such further order;
• immovable property or any interest in immovable property – a written order signed by the registrar prohibiting the judgment debtor from alienating in any way the property or any interest in the property and the registrar may also, by direction of the court, take and retain actual possession of the property.

Immovable and movable properties attached under a writ of fieri facias are valued by a certified valuer and sold under the registrar’s direction. Unless the court directs a sale to be made in any other manner, sales in execution of judgments are made by public auction under the direction of the registrar.

No sale shall be made until after at least seven days’ notice of the sale in the case of movable property and, in the case of immovable property, until after at least 21 days’ public notice. The notices shall be made in the town or place where the property to be sold is situated. Regarding immovable property, this is usually done by posting a copy of the notice on the physical property, on the notice board of the court and in a newspaper publication.

Garnishee Proceedings

These are proceedings by which the court may order a third party (garnishee), who holds money to the credit of a judgment debtor, to pay to the judgment creditor the debt due to the judgment creditor from the judgment debtor or as much of it as is sufficient to satisfy the judgment debt.

Procedure

In the first instance, the judgment creditor obtains by ex-parte application, a garnishee order nisi from the court directed at the garnishee to show cause why sums of money held by the garnishee to the credit of the judgment debtor should not be paid to the judgment creditor in satisfaction of the judgment debt.

The ex-parte application must be supported by an affidavit stating the amount of the judgment debt outstanding and also that, to the best of the information and belief of the deponent, the judgment debtor is indebted to the judgment creditor.

Upon the grant of the garnishee order nisi, the order is drawn up by the registrar of the court and served on the garnishee and the judgment debtor at least seven clear days before the return date on which the garnishee, at a time appointed, will appear in court and be orally examined.

The garnishee shall be examined as to whether it has any property or deeds or money in its possession belonging to the judgment debtor that could settle the judgment debt, and produce to the court the relevant evidence.

Where after the examination the court is satisfied that the sums held by the garnishee can be used to settle the judgment debt, the court will order the garnishee to pay the sums held by the garnishee to the judgment creditor.

The following debts are exempt from a garnishee order:

• the wages or salary payable to an employee of the Republic;
• pension or social security; and
• money which, by an enactment, is prohibited or restricted from attachment or the execution of a debt.

Charging Order

To enforce a judgment or order for the payment of money to a judgment creditor, the court may, upon application by a judgment creditor, impose a charge on any immovable property or securities owned by the judgment debtor to secure payment of money due under the judgment or order. Securities are defined as government stock standing in the name of the Accountant-General of the Republic, stock of any company registered under any enactment, dividend or interest payable on the stock.

Procedure

On an application, ex-parte supported by an affidavit, the court will make an order directed at the judgment debtor to show cause why the charging order should not be made. The affidavit supporting the ex-parte application must specify the immovable property or securities sought to be attached and also that, to the best of the information and belief of the deponent, the immovable property or securities belong to the judgment debtor and also the grounds for such belief.

The order would also state a date and time for further consideration of the matter and impose a charge on the immovable property or securities until that event. There may also be joined to the ex-parte application a further application for an order for the appointment of a receiver to enforce the charge imposed by the order.

The order shall be served on the judgment debtor at least seven days before the appointed date and time for further consideration of the matter. In the case of securities, the order must also be served on the Bank of Ghana, the company concerned and the Accountant-General of the Republic.

On further consideration of the matter, the court may make its earlier order absolute unless there is sufficient cause to the contrary. However, if it appears to the court that the order absolute shall not be made, the court shall discharge its earlier order.

Appointment of Receiver

Procedure

On application by a party to a matter, the court may appoint a receiver in all cases in which it appears to the court to be just or convenient to do so. The order may be made either unconditionally or upon such terms and conditions as the court thinks just.

A judgment or order directing the appointment of a receiver may include such directions as the court thinks fit for the giving of security by the receiver. The security is usually in the form of a guarantee or written undertaking having regard to the amount for which the security is given.

The order or judgment appointing the receiver also fixes reasonable remuneration for the appointed receiver.

Order of Committal

A judgment or order for a judgment debtor to pay a debt within a specific time, to do or abstain from doing an act, or to give up possession or deliver goods within a particular time may be enforced by an order of committal.

Procedure

Committal proceedings are commenced by an application to the court supported by an affidavit stating inter alia the grounds of the application.

For the application for contempt to succeed the applicant must show beyond reasonable doubt that:

• there is a judgment or order requiring the respondent to do or abstain from doing something;
• the respondent knows what precisely he/she is expected to do;
• the respondent failed to comply with the terms of the judgment or order; and
• that the respondent’s disobedience is wilful.

The application and the supporting affidavit must be served personally on the person sought to be committed unless the court dispenses with service of the notice of motion if it thinks it just to do so.

If the court decides to make an order of committal against the person sought to be committed, it shall state in open court:

• the name of that person;
• in general terms the nature of the contempt of court in respect of which the order of committal is being made; and
• if the person is being committed for a fixed period, the length of that period.

Writ of Sequestration

A writ of sequestration is directed to two or more persons described as commissioners, appointed and empowered by the court to enter any immovable property of the person against whom the writ is issued and to collect, take and obtain not only the rents and profits of the immovable property, but also all the person's goods and movable property, and detain and keep them under sequestration in their hands until the person is cleared of an order of contempt or the court makes an order to the contrary.

Procedure

Application on notice for leave to issue a writ of sequestration supported by an affidavit is made to the court seeking the leave of the court to issue the writ of sequestration.

The affidavit supporting the application shall a) identify the judgment or order to which the application relates; and b) if the judgment or order is for the payment of money, state the amount originally due and the amount due under it at the date of the application.

Writ of Possession of Immovable Property

Where judgment is given for a party recover possession of immovable property, it may be enforced with the leave of the court by a writ of possession.

Procedure

An application for writ of possession supported by an affidavit is made to the court for leave to issue a writ of possession.

The leave shall not be granted unless it is shown that every person in actual possession of the whole or any part of the immovable property has received such notice of the proceedings as appears to the court sufficient to enable the person to apply to the court or any relief to which the person may be entitled.

Writ of Delivery/Specific Delivery of Goods

A judgment or order for the delivery of goods may be enforced by a writ of specific delivery. Where the judgment is given with no alternative for the judgment debtor or losing party to pay the assessed value, the judgment is enforced by a writ of specific delivery. Where the judgment gives an option to pay the assessed value the judgment may be enforced by a writ of delivery to recover goods or assessed value.

Procedure

The successful party shall apply to the court by motion with supporting affidavit. The rules do not specify whether or not the application shall be on notice or made ex-parte. If made ex-parte and granted the losing party will be at liberty to apply to the court set the order aside on stated grounds.

Administration

An administrator may be appointed by the court on application by a creditor (which would include a judgment creditor), if the court is satisfied that:

• the company is or may become insolvent;
• the survival of the company and the assets as a going concern are reasonably capable of being achieved in the event of an administrator being appointed;
• a more advantageous realisation of the assets of the company and any related company may be achieved than on an immediate winding-up;
• the appointment of an administrator may achieve a more advantageous realisation or a more expeditious settlement of a duty or liability owed by any person to the company or any related company; or
• it is just and equitable to do so.

Official Liquidation

A judgment creditor may, apply by petition for an official winding up of a company which is a judgment debtor. On the commencement of a winding-up, the liquidator is required to realise as soon as practicable, the assets of the company that are not held in cash for their full value for distribution to the creditors of the company.

Procedure

There are two procedures available to a judgment creditor who seeks to enforce a judgment by official liquidation.

Petition to the Registrar of Companies

• A person who is a creditor (including a judgment creditor) of a company may present a petition to the registrar of companies for the official winding up of the company. The petitioner shall serve a copy of the petition on the company on or before the day on which the petition is presented to the registrar.
• The registrar may order the official winding up of the company on the petition if the registrar is satisfied that the company is unable to pay its debts. A company is unable to pay its debts if an execution or any other process issued on a judgment or order of the court in favour of a creditor of a company is returned unsatisfied in whole or in part.
• Once the winding up order is made the registrar shall place on record a copy of the winding up order for the company concerned, and publish the order in the Companies Bulletin.

Petition to the Court

• A creditor of the company may present a petition to the court for the official winding up of the company that is a judgment debtor. A copy of the petition must be served on the company to give them an opportunity to respond to the petition.
• The court may order the official winding up of the company where the court is satisfied that the company is unable to pay its debts.

Filing costs of entry of judgment cuts across all enforcement procedures. These are assessed based on the nature and/or quantum of the judgment. Where enforcement entails the sale of both immovable and movable property, the typical costs would be based on the valuation cost of the property to be auctioned and the auctioneers fees.

Apart from these, there are no typical costs involved in enforcing a judgment beyond the filing fees for the enforcement applications. Likewise, there is no specific duration. The costs and duration vary depending on factors such as the nature of the case, the court involved, the enforcement method chosen, the value of the judgment and applications filed by the losing party to try and stay or simply frustrate the execution of a judgment.

There are different methods used to enforce different types of judgments or orders made by the court. The most effective method will depend on the nature of judgment delivered by the court.

There are post-judgment procedures available to determine what assets a defendant holds and where they are located. See the points listed in 1.1 Options to Identify Another Party’s Asset Position for further information.

Non-Service of Process

Non-service of the originating process on a party may be a good ground for setting aside a judgment. Whether non-service of other process would ground the setting aside of a judgment would depend on the circumstances.

Default Judgments

Judgments entered in default of appearance and default of defence may be set aside by the party in default by an application to court for an order setting aside the judgment and granting the party in default leave to enter an appearance or file a defence. Such applications are routinely granted by the court to enable a proper hearing of the matter on merit, but usually subject to payment costs by the party in default.

Summary Judgments, Final Judgments and Judgments on Admission

A losing party may appeal against a summary judgment, a final judgment or a judgment on admissions.

However, an appeal does not stay the execution of the judgment or orders of the court. A losing party may file an application to the court which gave the judgment for stay of execution of the judgment pending appeal. For example, a judgment delivered by the High Court may be appealed to the court of Appeal. A losing party dissatisfied with the judgment may then file an application to the High Court for stay of execution of the judgment. If the High Court refuses the application for stay, it may be repeated in the court of Appeal.

The affidavit supporting the application for stay must show that special circumstances exist that may render the appeal nugatory if successful, and which therefore make it expedient for the court to grant the stay of execution.

Almost all domestic judgments are enforceable in Ghana. However, by the Limitation Act, 1972, a person shall not bring an action on a judgment after the expiration of 12 years from the date on which the judgment became enforceable.

Ghana does not have a centralised register of all judgments. However, the court registries keep records of each case filed with the registries. These records include judgments delivered. Judgments cannot be removed from the records of the court even if the judgment debtor has fully satisfied the judgment debt.

Enforcement of foreign judgments are governed by the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459) and Foreign Judgments and Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Instrument 1993 (L.I. 1575).

Act 459 provides that judgments given in the superior courts of a foreign country may be enforceable in Ghana based on substantial reciprocity of treatment assured in respect of the enforcement in that country of judgments given in the superior courts of Ghana. Once such substantial reciprocity is assured, the President of Ghana may order that judgments of the Superior Court of that foreign country may be enforced in Ghana in accordance with the provisions of Act 459.

A foreign judgment may be enforced in Ghana if the court is satisfied that:

• it is a judgment of a superior court of that foreign country;
• the judgment is final and conclusive between the parties;
• there is no pending appeal against the judgment;
• a sum of money is payable under the judgment which is not a tax or a fine or other charge of similar nature; and
• if the judgment was given after the coming into force of the legislative instrument that gives reciprocity between the country of origin of the judgment and Ghana.

L.I. 1575 provides a list of countries and their superior courts whose judgments will be enforced in Ghana on the basis of reciprocity. The President of Ghana may from time to time revise the list. The list of countries and courts comprise:

• Brazil – Supreme Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal, State High Court;
• France – Cours De Cessation, Cours d’Appel;
• Israel – Supreme Court;
• Italy – Corte di Appello, Corte Suprema di Cassazione;
• Japan – Supreme Court of Japan;
• Lebanon – Court of Appeal, High Court;
• Senegal – Cours Supreme, Cours d’Appel;
• Spain – Tribunal Supremo, Audiencia Territorial, Juez de Primera Instancia;
• the United Arab Republic – Court of Cessation, Court of Appeal; and
• the United Kingdom – High Court of England, High Court of Northern Ireland, Court of Session in Scotland.

Act 459 also provides for the enforcement of foreign maintenance orders. The President of Ghana may, having regard to reciprocal provisions under the law of a foreign country, direct by legislative instrument that maintenance orders from that foreign country receive reciprocal enforcement in Ghana.

L.I. 1575 provides the list of countries and/or states whose maintenance orders are enforceable in Ghana:

• Switzerland;
• the United Kingdom;
• the Australian states of Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia; and
• the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland, North-west Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island.

By Act 459 only two types of foreign judgment or orders are enforceable in Ghana:

• foreign judgments for payment of money made superior courts of a foreign country listed in Foreign Judgments and Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Instrument 1993 (L.I. 1575); and
• maintenance order of courts of a foreign country listed in the Foreign Judgments and Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Instrument 1993 (L.I. 1575).

The approach for enforcing foreign maintenance orders is quite different from the approach to enforcing a foreign judgment for payment of money. The High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (CI47) and Act 459 provide different procedures for enforcement.

Foreign Judgments

With respect to foreign judgments, the person seeking to enforce the foreign judgment in Ghana must apply to the High Court to have the foreign judgment registered. The application to the High Court shall be supported by an affidavit:

• exhibiting the judgment or a verified or certified or otherwise duly authenticated copy of it;
• where the judgment is not in English, by procuring a translation of it in English certified by a notary public or authenticated by affidavit; and
• stating the name, trade or business and the usual or last known place of abode or business of the judgment creditor and the judgment debtor respectively, so far as is known to the deponent.

The deponent must also state that to the best of their information or belief:

• the judgment creditor is entitled to enforce the judgment;
• at the date of the application, the judgment had not been satisfied;
• at the date of the application, the judgment can be enforced by execution in the country of the original court and that if it were registered, the registration would not be set aside under section 83 of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459); and
• specify the amount of the interest, if any, which under the law of the country of the original court has become due under the judgment up to the time of the application for registration.

Where the sum payable under a judgment sought to be registered is expressed in a foreign currency, the affidavit shall also state the amount in the currency of Ghana calculated at the appropriate Bank of Ghana rate of exchange prevailing at the date of the judgment. In addition, it must state such other evidence with respect to the enforceability of the judgment by execution in the country of the original court and of the law of that country under which any interest has become due under the judgment as may be registered, having regard to the provisions of the legislative instrument made in respect of that country under Section 81(1) of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459).

An order giving leave to register a judgment shall be drawn up by or on behalf of the judgment creditor and served on the judgment debtor unless the court otherwise directs. A notice of registration is also served on the judgment debtor.

Once the judgment is registered the judgment creditor may proceed to enforce the judgment in Ghana.

Maintenance Orders

A maintenance order made in a foreign country may be registered in the High Court in Ghana if the order was made by a superior court of that foreign country and in any other case in the District Court.

A certified copy of the order shall, in the first instance, be sent to the Minister for Justice for transmission to the appropriate court for registration.

Where a certified copy of a maintenance order made by a court outside Ghana is transmitted to the Minister for Justice, the order shall, where it was made by a court of superior jurisdiction, be sent to the registrar of the court in the region in which the defendant is alleged to be living.

The registrar to whom an order is sent in accordance with rule 1 shall enter it in the register of the registrar on the date on which it is received, in the same manner as if the order had been made at the registrar’s court.

In the case of provisional order for maintenance a certified copy of the provisional order made by a court of superior jurisdiction outside Ghana and received by the Minister for Justice shall be sent to the registrar of the court, with accompanying documents and a requisition for the issue of summons to the party affected by the order to show cause why the order should not be confirmed.

When a maintenance order has been registered in the court, or a provisional order has been confirmed by the court, the court shall, unless satisfied that it is undesirable to do so, direct that all payments due under the order shall be made through an officer of the court, or such other person as the court may specify.

The person through whom the payments are directed to be made shall collect the monies due under the order, and may take proceedings in the name of the judgment creditor for enforcing payment, and shall send the monies when collected, to the court from which the order was originally issued.

Foreign judgments will not be enforced if it is proved to the registering court that:

• the foreign judgment is not a judgment to which Act 459 applies or was registered in contravention of the Act; 
• the judgment debt has been wholly satisfied;
• it cannot be enforced by execution in the country of the original court;
• the original court did not have jurisdiction in the case; 
• the foreign judgment debtor, being the defendant in the proceedings in the original court, did not, although process may have been duly served on the judgment debtor in accordance with the law of the country of the original court, receive notice of those proceedings in sufficient time to enable the judgment debtor to defend the proceedings and did not appear; 
• the foreign judgment was obtained by fraud; 
• the enforcement of the foreign judgment would be contrary to public policy in Ghana; 
• the matter in dispute in the proceedings in the original court had prior to the date of the foreign judgment in the original court been the subject of a final and conclusive judgment by a court in Ghana that had jurisdiction in the matter; or
• six years have elapsed since the date of the judgment or, where there has been an appeal, after the last judgment given in those proceedings.

A judgment creditor under a foreign judgment commences enforcement by first applying to the High Court to have the foreign judgment registered.

The application for registration of the foreign judgment shall be made within six years after the date of the judgment or where there has been an appeal, after the last judgment given in those proceedings.

For the purposes of execution:

• a registered foreign judgment shall be of the same force and effect;
• proceedings may be taken on a registered foreign judgment;
• the sum of money for which a foreign judgment is registered shall carry interest; and
• the registering court shall have the same control over the execution of a registered foreign judgment, as if the foreign judgment had been a judgment originally given in the registering court and entered on the date of registration.

Apart from the usual filing fees for the applications, there are no typical costs involved in enforcing a foreign judgment. Likewise, there is no specific duration. Since the foreign judgment will be a judgment for the payment of money, after registration it may be enforced by one or more of the methods for enforcing domestic judgments, that is:

• a writ of fieri facias;
• garnishee proceedings;
• a charging order;
• the appointment of a receiver;
• where the order is made for payment of the money within a specific time, by an order of committal or a writ of sequestration; and/or
• by administration or official liquidation of a company.

The costs, duration and more efficient options vary depending on factors such as the nature of the case, the value of the judgment, the assets of the judgment debtor available to satisfy the debt and applications filed by the losing party to prevent or set aside registration of the judgment. Where, however, enforcement entails attachment and sale of immovable property, additional cost of valuation and the auctioneer’s fees would apply.

Enforcement of a foreign judgment may be challenged on the grounds listed in 3.3 Categories of Foreign Judgments Not Enforced.

Enforcing arbitral awards in Ghana is governed by the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act 2010, Act (798). Some of the legal issues relating to the enforcement of arbitral awards in Ghana include:

• Competence of the arbitral tribunal: The arbitral tribunal must have had the necessary jurisdiction to hear and decide the case.
• Compliance with procedural requirements: The arbitral award must have been made in accordance with the procedural requirements of the arbitration agreement or the law governing the arbitration.
• Recognition and Enforcement: The arbitral award must be recognised and enforced by the Ghanaian courts in accordance with the procedures set out in Act 798.
• Setting aside arbitral awards: An arbitral award may be set aside if it was made in breach of the rules of natural justice or due to corruption, fraud or other irregularity.
• Public policy: The enforcement of an arbitral award may be refused if it violates Ghanaian public policy.
• Limitation periods: An arbitral award which is made in respect of an arbitration agreement under seal cannot be brought after the expiration of 12 years from the date the award was made. An award not made under Act 798 cannot be enforced after six years from the date the award was delivered.

Subject to the right to set aside or resist the enforcement of an award, all foreign arbitral awards are binding on the parties and persons claiming through them and are enforceable in the High Courts of Ghana under the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, 2010 (Act 798) and the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (C.I. 47).

Under Act 798, certain matters cannot be determined through arbitration. Therefore, awards that relate to such matters will not be enforced. These are matters that:

• touch on national or public interest;
• relate to environment;
• relate to enforcement and interpretation of the 1992 Constitution; or
• any other matter that by law cannot be settled by an alternative dispute resolution method.

Other grounds for refusing to enforce an arbitral award are as follows:

• the award was not made by a competent authority under the laws of the country in which the award was made;
• no reciprocal arrangement exists between the Republic of Ghana and the country in which the award was made; or the award was not made under the New York Convention;
• the original award or a copy of the award authenticated in the manner prescribed by the law of the country in which it was made has not been produced to the High Court;
• the original agreement pursuant to which the award was made or a copy of it duly authenticated in the manner prescribed by the law of the country in which it was made has not been produced to the High Court;
• there is an appeal pending against the award in any court under the law applicable to the arbitration;
• the award has been annulled in the country in which it was made;
• the party against whom the award is invoked was not given sufficient notice to enable the party present the party’s case;
• a party, lacking legal capacity, was not properly represented;
• the award does not deal with the issues submitted to arbitration; or
• the award contains a decision beyond the scope of the matters submitted for arbitration.

Enforcement is commenced by filing at the High Court an originating notice of motion supported by an affidavit seeking leave to enforce the arbitral award.

The affidavit must show that the award:

• was made by a competent authority under the laws of the country where the award was made;
• that a reciprocal agreement exists between Ghana and the country in which the award was made or that the award was made under the New York Convention or under any other international convention on arbitration ratified by Parliament; and
• the award is not subject to any of the grounds for refusing enforcement set out in the Act 798.

Where leave is granted by the High Court, judgment may be entered in terms of the award.

The award can then be enforced in the same manner as a judgment or order of the High Court.

Apart from the usual filing fees for the applications, there are no typical costs involved in enforcing a foreign arbitral award. Likewise, there is no specific duration. Once leave is granted for an arbitral award to be enforced, the award may be enforced by any of the methods used for enforcing domestic judgments.

The costs, duration and more efficient options vary depending on factors such as the nature of the case, the value of the arbitral award, the assets of the judgment debtor available to satisfy the debt and applications filed by the losing party to prevent the execution of the award or set it aside. Where, however, enforcement entails the attachment and sale of immovable property, the cost of valuing the attached property and auctioneer’s fees would apply.

Arbitral awards may be challenged on the grounds listed in 4.3 Categories of Arbitral Awards Not Enforced.