Appeals and leave to appeal

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1961

Principle established: An appellate court has no statutory power to increase a sentence when the appellant has not appealed against sentence.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2016

Principle established: A party refused leave to appeal by the High Court may apply directly to the Court of Appeal for leave to appeal against an interlocutory ruling.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 2015

Principle established: The Supreme Court hears cross-appeals from the Court of Appeal to determine the correctness of orders made in employment-related disputes.

Ghana · 2026

Principle established: A review application must disclose exceptional circumstances resulting in a miscarriage of justice and cannot be used as a mere re-argument of the original appeal.

Ghana · 2026

Principle established: A review application must disclose exceptional circumstances resulting in a miscarriage of justice and cannot be used as a mere re-argument of the original appeal.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1973

Principle established: An Administrator-General appearing in an official capacity cannot be made personally liable for costs due to an irregularity in appointment, and an error of law justifies an appellate court reversing a costs order.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1972

Principle established: Leave to appeal against an order for costs may be granted where an issue of public importance arises, such as where a public officer is personally ordered to pay costs.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1972-73

Principle established: Leave to appeal against an order for costs may be granted when a question of public importance is involved, such as where a public officer is ordered personally to pay costs.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1972-73

Principle established: An error of law affecting costs justifies an appellate court in setting aside a costs order, and an Administrator-General acting officially cannot be made personally liable due to an appointment irregularity.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1972-73

Principle established: A landlord's acceptance of rent with knowledge of a breach of covenant constitutes a waiver of the breach, regardless of whether waiver was intended.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1973

Principle established: A landlord's acceptance of rent with knowledge of a tenant's breach constitutes a waiver of the breach as a matter of law, regardless of the landlord's subjective intent.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1973

Principle established: A landlord's or authorized agent's acceptance of accrued rent with knowledge of a tenant's breach constitutes a waiver of that breach, irrespective of whether waiver was actually intended.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2024

Principle established: Whether a decision striking out a writ for lack of jurisdiction is interlocutory or final determines the procedure for seeking leave to appeal.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2024

Principle established: A court may grant leave to appeal against a decision striking out consolidated writs if it determines the decision was interlocutory rather than final.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1984

Principle established: The Supreme Court will refuse an application for special leave to appeal where the applicant fails to demonstrate that it is a proper case for the court to exercise its discretion.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 2012

Principle established: A party may seek leave to amend court papers to correctly reflect their status as an appellant rather than an interested party.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1950-56

Principle established: An appellate court will not disturb or set aside concurrent findings of fact made by two courts below.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1950-56

Principle established: The rule requiring criminal prosecution of a felony prior to maintaining a civil action for the same wrong does not apply where the civil defendant is an innocent third party.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1963

Principle established: A magistrate cannot refuse to commit an accused for trial without considering the whole of the evidence, and any person may lay an information for a public offence absent limiting statutory provisions.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2017

Principle established: An interlocutory injunction may be granted to restrain a political party's national conference or executive meetings pending the determination of an appeal concerning internal party elections.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2019

Principle established: The court considered whether a trial judge erred by preferring a statutory declaration over a deed of conveyance and whether the judgment was against the weight of evidence in a land dispute.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 2015

Principle established: The Supreme Court may grant an enlargement of time to appeal and a stay of proceedings where an appeal lies as of right, pursuant to its procedural rules.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 2015

Principle established: An applicant may seek an enlargement of time to appeal and a stay of execution of lower court judgments pending the determination of the appeal in the Supreme Court.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 2015

Principle established: Where an appeal lies as of right, the Supreme Court has the discretion to grant an enlargement of time to lodge the appeal and stay proceedings from the lower courts.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1961

Principle established: An appellate court will not interfere with a trial court's assessment of damages unless the figure is so generous as to show it was assessed on a wrong principle.

Ghana · 2025

Principle established: New evidence will not be allowed on appeal unless the court is satisfied that, with due diligence, the evidence was not available to the party during the original trial.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 2021

Principle established: The Supreme Court will hear appeals from the Court of Appeal on significant points of law or where there has been a miscarriage of justice in the lower courts.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1963

Principle established: An appellate court should only interfere with a trial court's sentencing discretion where the trial court exercised that discretion on a wrong principle.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1963

Principle established: An appellate court will disturb a trial court's sentence only if it is evident that the sentencing discretion was exercised on a wrong principle.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2012

Principle established: An applicant may move to set aside an order dismissing an appeal and restore it for hearing while seeking a stay of execution of the underlying judgment.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 2015

Principle established: Procedural irregularities in entering an action for trial are not necessarily fatal and do not render the proceedings void if they do not result in a miscarriage of justice.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 2015

Principle established: Appellate courts must determine whether a failure to strictly comply with procedural rules for entering an action for trial constitutes a fatal irregularity that voids the proceedings.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 2015

Principle established: A court evaluates whether an irregularity in trial entry is so fatal as to render the proceedings void, or if the action was effectively entered despite non-compliance with specific rules.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2018

Principle established: A trial judge must consider whether questions of law are suitable for determination without a full trial and whether such determination will finally resolve the matter.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1955

Principle established: The defense of inevitable accident need not be specially pleaded and is open under a plea of no negligence, and an unpleaded ground may be considered on appeal if justice warrants.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1950-56

Principle established: A defendant may raise inevitable accident under a plea denying negligence without pleading it specifically, and an appellate court may consider unpleaded points if justice requires and the respondent has notice.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1964-66

Principle established: The absence of a recorded summing-up is not fatal to a conviction where the evidence clearly supports a unanimous verdict and raises no difficult issues.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1965

Principle established: The failure to record a judge's summing-up does not vitiate a conviction where the jury returned a unanimous verdict clearly supported by the evidence and raising no complex issues.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1983

Principle established: Summary dismissal is only justified where the employee's misconduct is gravely incompatible with the employment, and an appellate court may evaluate overall evidence when not disturbing findings based on witness credibility.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 2021

Principle established: An appellate court may allow the introduction of new evidence if it is relevant, credible, and could not have been reasonably obtained during the original proceedings.