The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu had questioned the rationale behind the hasty appointment of successor to Justice Georgina Theodora Wood when a Judicial Council is yet to be constituted.

Even though he indicated that the Parliament of Ghana will scrutinize the appointment of the incoming Chief Justice (CJ) Sophia A.B. Akufo to deepen and strengthen separation of powers the President used to appoint, he is disappointed it was done in a rather hasty manner.

” My disappointment is that there is no Judicial Council [now] even though the requirements for this is maybe in a consultation with the Council of State with the approval of Parliament”, Minority Leader, Haruna Iddresu expressed worry.

“President should have been in a hurry to constitute the Judicial Council which with respect of other superior Court Judges will play a role and probably give some guidelines”

While endorsing her nomination, the minority MPs gave their word of advice to to Justice Sophia A.B. Akufo as she takes over from someone with rich experience.

Hon. Haruna Iddrisu on a radio urged the incoming CJ to lead the fight against the judicial corruption to redeem the lost image.

He also urged her to work to improve the working conditions of judicial staff in the country at this time staff are pressing for better condition of service.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in accordance with Article 144 (1) of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution named the Supreme Court Judge as a successor to Justice Georgina Theodora Wood whose tenure expires June, 10, 2017

Profile of Justice Sophia Akuffo

Sophia A.B. Akuffo has been a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ghana for the past two decades.

Sophia Akuffo trained as a lawyer under Nana Akufo-Addo who 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).

One of her famous cases is when she presided over the Montie 3 in 2016.