Justice Sophia Akuffo likely to become new Chief Justice

She trained as a lawyer under President Nana Akufo-Addo in the 1980s.

[contextly_sidebar id=”v4bIVfpi3ggqlyW3t2Qtr3UekqiHuvE5″]The nomination of a new Chief Justice has been necessitated by impending retirement of the current Chief Justice, Justice, Georgina Theodora Wood who leaves office this June this year to begin her retirement after 10 years of service.

The President has the responsibility of appointing a Chief Justice in consultation with the Council of State and subsequent approval of Parliament to fill the position when it becomes vacant.

Article 144 (1) of the 1992 Constitution states: “The Chief Justice shall be appointed by the President acting in consultation with the Council of State and with the approval of Parliament.”

Ahead of the official announcement of the new Chief Justice, many had tipped Justices Jones Dotse and Anin Yeboah as likely candidates to be picked among the 12 Justices of the Supreme Court qualified to occupy the high office.

About Sophia Akuffo

Sophia Akuffo had her Masters in Law (LLM) from the Havard University in the United States.

She has been a member of the Governing Committee of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute and the 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 Peoples’ Rights initially elected for two years, she was subsequently re-elected until 2014 and is at present serving as Vice-President of the Court.

She has written The Application of Information & Communication Technology in the Judicial Process – the Ghanaian Experience, a presentation to the African Judicial Network Ghana (2002).

If confirmed by parliament Justice Sophia Akuffo will be the fifth Chief Justice under the fourth republic after;

She will also be the 13^th Chief Justice in the history of the Republic of Ghana.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana