Mr. Justice Ralph Zulman, justice of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa, has visited Ghana from 20th to 24th August 2007 at the invitation of the Ghana Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Advisors (GARIA). The highlights of His Lordship’s visit were a public lecture and a roundtable discussion with judges, lawyers, accountants and other stakeholders, under the auspices of the Ghana Institute of Economic Affairs.

Justice Zulman also visited the Commercial Court where he sat in to observe the sitting of the vacation court. He later held discussions with three judges: Mr. Justice S.A. Brobbey of the Supreme Court; Mr. Justice S. Marful-Sau, president of the Commercial Court and Mrs. Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, also of the Commercial Court.

Justice Zulman briefed his Ghanaian counterparts on how his country’s courts deal with bankruptcy and insolvency cases involving individuals and corporate entities as well as the management and distribution of assets. On his part, Justice Marful-Sau said the only difference between the practices in the two jurisdictions was that under the Ghana Law, Official Bodies Liquidation Act (Act 180), only corporate entities can be declared bankrupt and not individuals.