On 24th February, 1966, with the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah and his régime by the Armed Forces with the cooperation of the Police Service of Ghana, Ghana entered a new phase in her national development. By a Proclamation of 22nd February, 1966, the new military régime (the National Liberation Council [N.L.C.]) suspended the Constitution and its subsequent amendments, dissolved the National Assembly and banned the Convention People's Party, i.e., the former ruling party. It also confirmed the tenure of judicial and other public offices; and, until changes were made, the courts and existing laws were to continue in existence.2 The N.L.C. was declared to be the government of Ghana, pending the promulgation of a new Constitution and the formation of a new government under such Constitution,3 with full power to legislate by Decree.4

In 1829, George Millis, a member of the Established Church of Ireland, married Hester Graham before a Presbyterian Minister in accord with Presbyterian rites at the home of the Minister in Ireland. George and Hester lived together for a time as husband and wife, but in 1836, and with Hester still alive, George married Jane Kennedy in a parish church in England.

In Ghana most land cases are determined according to Ghanaian customary law. One question, however, has since early colonial times always been decided by common-law principles: the question whether a party is estopped by previous litigation from making a claim.2 Thus a court often applies common law to determine whether an issue may be raised, and then, having given an affirmative answer, applies customary law to determine its validity. The courts have never stated any legal justification for this application of common-law rules in essentially customary-law cases. The early colonial judges, perhaps because they were British lawyers, seem to have regarded the matter as self-evident. Later judges followed the earlier decisions, and since 1960 statute law has for convenience confirmed the practice.3