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Three judges at the Court of Appeal yesterday granted Tsatsu Tsikata, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), leave to file additional grounds of appeal. This is in a case in which he is seeking to have his five years� imprisonment by an Accra High Court in 2008 for causing financial loss to the state quashed. Peter Ebo-Ammisah, who represented the applicant, Tsikata, prayed the court presided over by Justice S.E. Kanyoke to allow them to file additional grounds of appeal. The Principal State Attorney in the matter, Mrs. Merley Wood, told the court she was not opposed to the application. The judges granted him leave to file his additional grounds of appeal within one week. Tsikata was not in court. The applicant believes his appeal stands a greater chance of success because the judgment of Mrs. Justice Henrietta Abban was �a miscarriage of justice�. At the last hearing, the former GNPC boss was without counsel but explained that his lawyer, E.V. Oware Dankwa, was only notified about the matter a few days before he went to court. Mrs. Merley Wood told the court that at the last hearing, there were mistakes in the record of proceedings which had not been effected. However, Tsikata said there were no mistakes but the proceedings were not readable, adding that it did not come with exhibits. The court consequently ordered the registrar to furnish the court with the record of proceedings and exhibits. No date has been fixed for the next hearing. Justices Kusi Appiah and Dennis Adjei were the two other judges. Tsatsu challenged the immunity of the International Financial Consortium (IFC) to sue and be sued at the Supreme Court and five judges, in a three-two majority ruling, decided that the IFC could sue and be sued. The judges were however of the opinion that the directors of the consortium enjoyed diplomatic immunity and could not be forced to appear in court if they did not wish to do so. Justice William Atuguba, the presiding judge and Justice Vida Akoto-Bamfo were of the opinion that the IFC could be compelled to testify because the issue of the fundamental human rights of a person takes precedence over any diplomatic immunity any organisation enjoys. They also stated that the directors of the consortium could sue and be sued and could therefore be compelled to appear in court when the need arises. However, Justices Sophia Akuffo, Julius Ansah and Sophia Adinyera ruled that directors of the IFC could not be compelled to testify if they did not wish to waive their diplomatic immunity but agreed that the IFC could be called to testify. In a judgment read by Justice Adinyera, the three judges noted that Ghana is a signatory to the Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Immunity and Privileges and the treaty is binding on the nation. She said the Vienna Convention �has the full force of the law in our courts� and noted that the law allows the directors of the IFC diplomatic immunity from criminal prosecution among others and that the law is enforceable. Mrs. Adinyera said the right to call a witness to testify is limited to the rights and privileges of that witness and observed that persons who enjoy diplomatic immunity cannot be made to appear in court if they do not wish to waive it. According to her, affirming an international law brings about respect to the country and noted that it is in the nation�s interest to do so. Nevertheless, she said, she and her two colleagues agreed that the Court of Appeal Judges erred when they ruled that that the IFC could not be called to testify. The former GNPC boss was sentenced to five years� imprisonment in 2008 for willfully causing financial loss to the state and misapplying public property. He received presidential pardon later in the same year but has continued to battle his conviction which he believes was wrongful. In the course of the trial, Tsikata indicated to the court that he wanted the IFC to be called to testify and present certain documents to the court which he believed would prove helpful to his case. The IFC sent a representative to tell the court that the organization and their directors enjoyed diplomatic immunity and did not wish to waive it. The trial judge, Mrs. Henrietta Abban upheld the submission of IFC. Mr. Tsikata went to the Court of Appeal on the issue and lost so he proceeded to the Supreme Court for a review.