Accountability of the Head of Family in Ghana: A Statutory Solution in Search of a Problem

Abstract

By a decree, the Head of Family (Accountability) Law, 1985, it has now been statutorily established that, in Ghana, whatever may have been the doubts in the past on the issue, the Head of Family is accountable for any family property entrusted to him. The relevant provisions of the Law are: Section 2 of the Law provides for an application by motion to the court for accounts by “any member of the family to which such property belongs who has or claims to have any beneficial interest in the property]. The only proviso is that such an application may not be entertained unless the court is satisfied that a settlement within the family has been attempted without success. The obvious reasons for this procedural requirement are to encourage the resolution out of court of family disputes relating to family property, and to conserve judicial resources. Perhaps ex abundanti cautela the new legislation makes accountable not only the head of family but also any other person who has possession, control or custody of family property. It has never been doubted that a person other than a head of family who has possession, control or custody of family property is fully accountable for the property. The problem, such as there was, related to the question of accountability for family property by the head of family.

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