Introduction
Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo has been nominated by President Akufo-Addo as the new Chief Justice, according to a letter sent to the Council of State on Tuesday, April 25. The President stated that the nomination was made to prevent any gaps that may arise following the retirement of the current Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin Yeboah, on May 24. Yeboah is set to retire from the bench on his seventieth birthday, and it is essential to have a new Chief Justice in office immediately after his retirement to avoid any vacuum.
“I have made the decision to initiate the appointment process now. According to Article 144 (1) of the constitution, which governs the appointment of a Chief Justice, I must first consult with the council of state before seeking approval from Parliament. Accordingly, I am nominating Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo, a member of the Supreme Court, as the new Chief Justice. I have enclosed a copy of her curriculum vitae for your consideration,” the letter read.
Justice Mrs Torkornoo will undergo parliamentary vetting to determine whether her nomination will be approved or not. If approved, she will become the third female Chief Justice in Ghana’s history, following in the footsteps of Justices Georgina Theodora Wood and Sophia Akuffo.
Profile Of The Nominee
Gertrude Torkornoo was born on September 11, 1962, in Cape Coast, Ghana, and hails from Winneba in the Central Region of Ghana. She attended Wesley Girls’ High School, where she earned her ordinary level certificate, and Achimota School for her advanced level certificate. She is an alumna of the University of Ghana and the Ghana School of Law, where she graduated in 1986. In 2001, she earned a Postgraduate Diploma in International Law and Organization from the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), which is part of Erasmus University in the Netherlands. In 2011, she graduated from Golden Gate University in the USA with an LLM in Intellectual Property Law.
Carreer
Justice Torkornoo started her legal career as a volunteer at the FIDA Legal Aid Service before joining Nabarro Nathanson in London for an internship. She later became an associate at Fugar & Co., a law firm in Accra, and eventually returned to the same firm as a director. In 1997, she co-founded Sozo Law Consult where she served as the Managing Partner until her appointment as a Justice of the High Court of Ghana on May 14, 2004.
She worked as a High Court judge until October 2012 when she was promoted to the Court of Appeal. In November 2019, she was nominated to the Supreme Court of Ghana and sworn into office on December 17, 2019.
Leadership Profile
Justice Torkornoo has assumed various leadership positions within the judicial service. She spearheaded the planning for the automation of all court levels, the procurement, and integration of electronic resources and software into the work of the Judicial Service as the Chair of the E-Justice Committee. Additionally, she has been the Supervising Judge of commercial courts since 2013 and has led the agenda and chaired the meetings and programs of the Users Committee of the Commercial Courts.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more content.
JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP
READ ALSO:
Apply Now: KNUST Opens Admissions for Undergraduate Top-Up Programmes in 2023
What to Know Before Coming to KNUST: A Guide for Prospective Students.
Tony Elumelu Storytellers Fund: Telling the Untold Stories of Entrepreneurship in Africa
IES Exam: Registration, Eligibility, and Fees
Scholarships Available At The University Of Toronto.
WHAT TO KNOW WHEN PICKING YOUR MAJOR OR MINOR AS A SOCIAL SCIENCE FRESHER.
