President nominates 3 females for Supreme Court

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has nominated three females for the Supreme Court, subject to approval by Parliament.

The three, all justices of the Court of Appeal, are Justice Mariama Owusu, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo and Justice Avril Lovelace Johnson.

The Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, who announced the nominations in Parliament yesterday, said the three justices would replace three female justices of the Supreme Court, two of whom had retired, with one due for retirement by the end of the year.

They are the Chief Justice, Justice Sophia A. B. Akuffo, who retires on December 20, 2019, and Justices Vida Akoto-Bamfo and Sophia Adinyira, who have both retired.

The law

Per Article 144 Clause 1 of the 1992 Constitution, the President appoints a justice of the Supreme Court as Chief Justice, in consultation with the Council of State and with the approval of Parliament.

Article 144 (2) also states that the President consults with the Council of State by submitting the names and curricula vitae of nominees for appointment to the Supreme Court.

After the completion of consultations with the Council of State, in accordance with Article 144 (2), the President then has to seek the approval of Parliament for the appointment of the nominees as justices of the Supreme Court.

The last Supreme Court appointments were made in July 2018. They involved four justices, namely, Justice Samuel K. Marful-Sau, Justice Agnes M. A. Dordzie, Prof. Nii Ashie Kotey and Nene A. O. Amegatcher.

Background

The current Chief Justice who is due for retirement in December was appointed to the Supreme Court on November 30, 1995.

She is the only remaining justice of the Supreme Court who was appointed to the court by then President Jerry John Rawlings.

Justice Akuffo was nominated as Chief Justice by President Nana Akufo-Addo on May 11, 2017, subject to approval by Parliament.

She was sworn in by the President as the 13th Chief Justice of Ghana on June 19, 2017.

She was born on December 20, 1949 and has been a judge of the Supreme Court since 1995.

 She trained as a lawyer under Nana Akufo-Addo and has a master's degree in Law from the Harvard University.

Justice Akuffo has been a member of the Governing Committee of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute and Chairperson of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Task Force.

 In January 2006, she was elected one of the first judges of the African Court on Human and People’s Rights. Initially elected for two years, she was subsequently re-elected until 2014 and served as Vice-President and then President of the court.

Justice Akuffo is the author of The Application of Information & Communication Technology in the Judicial Process – the Ghanaian Experience, a presentation to the African Judicial Network Ghana (2002).