In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court has rejected a lawsuit challenging the regulation of plant breeders.
The case stemmed from the passage of the Plant Variety Protection Act, 2020 (ACT 1050) by Parliament in 2020, which aimed to regulate breeders in Ghana.
Under this law, a breeder is defined as an individual who breeds or discovers and develops a plant variety, the employer of such person, or their legal successor.
The legislation imposes obligations on breeders to comply with Ghana’s regulations regarding the production, certification, marketing, import, and export of plant material.
One of the key contentions brought forth by the food advocacy group, Food Sovereignty Ghana, was that certain provisions of the law violated farmers’ rights to save, use, exchange, and sell farm-saved seeds and other propagating material.
They argued that the law hindered farmers’ ability to propagate material without authorization.
Additionally, the group highlighted that the law was implemented to enforce an international convention that Ghana had not ratified.
Food Sovereignty Ghana sought a declaration from the Supreme Court, asking it to rule these provisions unconstitutional.
However, on May 31, a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court presided over by Justice Paul Baffoe Bonnie, unanimously dismissed the case.
Justice Bonnie stated that the court’s jurisdiction had not been properly invoked, emphasizing that the case failed in its entirety.
The court’s complete reasoning behind the decision will be made available on October 2, 2023.
Other members of the panel included Justices Gabriel Pwamang, Professor Henrietta Mensah Bonsu, Lovelace Johnson, Emmanuel Y. Kulendi, and Barba Ackah-Yensu. Wayoe Ghanamannti, lead counsel for Food Sovereignty Ghana, expressed disagreement with the court’s decision, mentioning that they would wait for detailed reasons and advise their clients while considering a review.
Ghanamannti emphasized the distinction between domestic law and international law, stressing the need for ratification before their application.