The Appointments Committee of Parliament has set next Monday, the 19th of June 2017, to vet the President’s nominee for the position of Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo.
The President named Justice Sophia Akuffo last month, following the retirement of former Chief Justice, Georgina Wood.
Currently, Justice William Atuguba is the acting Chief Justice. The approval process of Parliament is in line with Article 144 of the 1992 constitution.
Confirming the date to Citi News’ Duke Mensah Opoku, Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak, also added that the vetting of Irene Naa Toshie Addo as District Assembly Common Fund Administrator is scheduled for 20th June.
“We are changing our modalities a little bit, but we have proposed the 19th and 20th June. Unless there are some changes, it is going to be 19th and 20th of June. We have decided that we will take CVs, and then five days after we have taken CVs, we begin working so if we said 19th and 20th and say for example the CV of the Chief Justice comes on the 17th , we’ll give ourselves five days , so if anyone delays CVs then he or she will be delaying the vetting,” Mr. Mubarak explained.
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; Isaac Kobina Abban who served between 1995 to 2001.
Edward Kwame Wiredu also served between 2001 and 2003 while George Kingley Acquah served from 2003 to 2007 before Georgina Theodora Wood from 2007 to 2017.
Justice Akuffo will also be the 13th Chief Justice in the history of the Republic of Ghana.
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
