Pursuant to article 144(2) of the 1992 constitution of Ghana, the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appointed four members of the Judiciary as Justices of the Supreme Court of Ghana, as he presents nominees to Parliament for approval.

According to a letter signed by the President and addressed to Parliament,  two (2) Appeal Court Judges, Justice Agnes M. A. Dordzie and Justice Samuel K. Marful-Sau, were part of the four appointed Justices to the Supreme Court.

The other two are, Nene A. O. Amegatcher, who’s a Private Legal Practitioner and former President of the Ghana Bar Association, and Prof. Nii Ashie Kotey, a former Dean at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ghana.

“Pursuant to article 144(2) of the constitution, the Judicial Council conveyed to me its advice on the appointment of the following persons to the Supreme Court”. President Nana Add has disclosed.

The President revealed that, he acted upon receipt of advice from the Judicial Council, and in accordance with his duties under the said Article of the Constitution.

President Akufo-Addo also indicated that same decision was reached in consultation with the Council of state, where the Council had earlier communicated to him that the consultative process for same appointments had been completed, hence the move.

The President, in accordance with Article 144(2) of the constitution, further sought the approval of Parliament and hoped the process of approval would be done expeditiously, to enable them assume office as soon as practicable.

Article 144 (2) of Ghana’s constitution states that, “(2) The other Supreme Court Justices shall be appointed by the President acting on the advice of the Judicial Council, in consultation with the Council of State and with the approval of Parliament”.

 

Justice Marful-Sau

Justice Marful-Sau, is known to have sittings as an additional High Court judge to have dismissed, acquitted and discharged Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani and Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby on April 10, 2010, when they stood trial on charges of causing financial loss to the state in the Ghana@50 saga.

He sat in as an additional High Court Judge. It is believed that he was long recommended for promotion to the Supreme Court by theJudicial Council, but was side-stepped by the President as punishment for his ruling in that case.

 

Prof. Nii Ashie Kotey

Prof. Kotey was an Associate Professor with the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, and has been involved in the development of higher education for decades.

He was a visiting lecturer in Nigeria as well as a visiting Scholar in the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

He is said to have a rich and diverse experience in both academia and in the real world.

He also held the positions of Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission of Ghana, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon and Acting Director of the Ghana School of Law.

Prof. Kotey was also a director at the Ghana Legal Literacy and Resource Foundation andthe General Legal Counsel.

 

Nene A. O. Amegatcher

Nene Amegatcher is a member of the Ghana General Legal Counsel, and a former President of the Ghana Bar Association.

He is the managing Partner of Sam Okudzeto & Associates and has over 31 years of experience as a Barrister and Solicitor.

He has also been a consultant to the World Bank on Administrative Law, Arbitration and ADR mechanisms under its Legal Sector Reform Project.

 

Exclusively Newslinegh