The case involving the Ghana Coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations in Health (GCNH) and the Ghana Medical Association (GMA,) began at the High Court in Accra yesterday, with counsel for the GMA raising a preliminary objection that the GCNH lacked the capacity to institute legal action to compel striking doctors to call off their strike. According to Nene Amegatcher, the action by the coalition was a clear violation of provisions in the Labour Act, pointing out that it was only the National Labour Commission (NLC) which was entrusted with that power. . Counsel further argued that the procedure adopted by the applicants was wrong, since there should be a pending action in the court before a motion could be filed. Nene Amegatcher described the motion as "incurably bad", since there was no pending action in the court regarding the matter and called on the court to dismiss it. He said as far as the Labour Law was concerned, the applicants did not have the capacity and that all they could do was offer advice to the NLC regarding the impasse and not go to court. However, counsel for the coalition, Mr James Odartey Mills, argued that even if there was an irregularity which did not affect the substance of the matter, the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules gave the court the power to call for its rectification for the matter to continue. Consequently, the court fixed Tuesday, October 25, 2011 to rule on whether or not the applicants have the capacity to initiate the action. The judge, Mr Justice Eric Obimpeh, in fixing the date, said the case was a matter in which every Ghanaian was interested, adding that there was the need for a ruling to be made on it quickly. The coalition, together with Madam Emelia Kwao of Lashibi, Accra, filed the motion on notice to compel the GMA to call off the strike by its members. Among the reliefs being sought by the applicants are a declaration that the ongoing strike by the GMA and its members was illegal, an order to compel the GMA to call off the strike, as well as costs. An affidavit accompanying the motion said the second applicant, Madam Kwao, was an elderly hypertensive woman who needed regular medical care and a babysitter by occupation who was a registered and fully paid-up beneficiary under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). The strike, it said, was hampering effective healthcare delivery and even though there were private hospitals, they were too expensive for the members of the public. The coalition said the strike was contrary to provisions in the Labour Act and, therefore, illegal.