Book on customary land law launched
Two volumes of a book aimed at aiding in research and guiding legal practitioners and the general public on documented landmark cases adjudicated in the courts have been launched in Accra.
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Volume 1 of the book is titled Cases and Materials on Customary Land Interests and volume two bears the title Cases and Materials on Customary Land laws in Ghana-Customary land management, both authored by seasoned lawyer and Law lecturer, Kwame Gyan.
During the launch of the book, Mr Gyan expressed the hope that his publication would serve as a database for research materials on land law.
He mentioned that the books would inform and educate the public on land ownership and acquisition in order to avoid the usual litigations associated with sale and purchase of land in Ghana.
“I seek to lessen the burden of research on law students who had to dig deep into antiquities to find literature and information on customary lands,” he explained.
Volume 1 of the book captures topics including alluvial titles and customary laws while the 2nd volume deals with matrimonial property, formalities of transfer of land interest and stool, family and land-owning entities.
Each of the volumes contains four chapters of both ancient and recent court cases aimed at educating the legal community as well as the general public, on customary land issues.
Mr Gyan indicated that some students go to the library and rip off pages from old textsbooks serving as reference materials hence the need to assemble all of such materials spanning ancient and recent court cases for the benefit of the legal community and beyond.
The more we bring the law from the confines of the law libraries and academia, the more we bring the law to the people, the more we demystify the law and clear public misperception of lawyers.
Launching the book, Prof. Nii Ashie Quartey of the University of Ghana Law School noted that the book was a seminal work and would update the legal fraternity, as well as the citizenry, on customary land law.
The event, which was well patronised by prominent personalities, including politicians, giants of industry, as well as footballers, saw copies of the book being auctioned for GH¢10,000.