Parliament has approved the nominations of Justice Sophia Rosetta Bernasko Essah, Justice Edward Amoako Asante and private legal practitioner Anthony Forson Jnr for appointment as Justices of the Supreme Court.
The approval followed the adoption of the report of Parliament’s Appointments Committee, which recommended all three nominees after a highly contentious vetting process that saw the Minority Caucus walk out in protest.
The development clears the way for the three nominees to complete the constitutional process towards their appointment to the country’s apex court.
President John Dramani Mahama nominated the three in consultation with the Judicial Council, with their nominations subsequently referred to Parliament for consideration.
Minority protests
The approval came against the backdrop of strong objections from the Minority, led by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who had challenged the decision to fast-track the vetting.
Mr Afenyo-Markin argued that the accelerated process was unnecessary because there was no vacancy on the Supreme Court bench requiring urgent replacement.
He maintained that the Minority’s objection was not directed at the nominees personally or at the President’s constitutional authority to nominate persons for appointment to the Supreme Court, but rather at the procedure and timetable adopted by the committee.
He subsequently led the Minority members out of the Appointments Committee after the committee chairman, Bernard Ahiafor, rejected the objection and ruled that the vetting should proceed.
Mr Ahiafor dismissed the grounds of the Minority’s objection as “flimsy”, “hollow” and “baseless”, paving the way for the Majority side of the committee to continue with the exercise.
Three distinguished nominees
The three nominees bring extensive experience from both the Judiciary and private legal practice.
Justice Sophia Rosetta Bernasko Essah is a Justice of the Court of Appeal with considerable judicial experience. Her latest nomination is notable because she was previously nominated for the Supreme Court in 2024 but did not complete the appointment process before the change of administration.
Justice Edward Amoako Asante, also a Court of Appeal Justice, has significant regional judicial experience. He previously served as President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, before returning to Ghana’s Court of Appeal.
Anthony Forson Jnr, a private legal practitioner and former President of the Ghana Bar Association, brings extensive experience from legal practice to the proposed Supreme Court bench.
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