Chief Justice nominee, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo, will today be vetted by the Appointments Committee of Parliament for her suitability to the position of Chief Justice.
This is the second time Justice Torkornoo will be facing the 26-member Committee chaired by the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, (NPP MP) Bekwai, having appeared before the Committee when she was nominated justice of the Supreme Court, in December 2019.
Justice Torkornoo’s vetting comes two days after Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah bowed out as Chief Justice after reaching his mandatory retirement age of 70 years.
When she appeared before the Committee in 2019, Justice Torkornoo was asked questions about general justice delivery in the country, corruption, human rights among other areas.
This time as potential head of the Judiciary, members of the Committee may be asking questions on how she intends to reform the judiciary, enhance the living conditions of the staff, improve on the infrastructure of the service, and generally improve justice delivery in the country.
A report on her vetting would be expected to be laid before Parliament when the House reconvenes on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, for approval or otherwise by plenary.
If approved, Justice Torkornoo will become Ghana’s 15th Chief Justice and the third female to occupy the office after Justices Georgina Theodora Wood and Sophia Abena Boafoa Akuffo.
Justice Torkornoo was nominated on April 26, 2023, by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, pursuant to Article 144(1) of the 1992 Constitution.
Born on September 11, 1962, in Cape Coast, Justice Torkornoo hails from Winneba, in the Central Region, and an old student of Wesley Girls High School, where she obtained the General Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary Level and Achimota School for her GCE Advanced Level certificate.
She holds a LLB from the University of Ghana, Legon, and an LLM in International Property Law from the University of San Francisco, USA.
Justice Justice Torkornoo was called to the Bench in 2004 as a High Court Judge after 18 years of private practice and subsequently a Court of Appeal judge in 2012.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
