President of the Republic, Nana Addo DankwaAkufo-Addo says selecting Justice Gertrude Torkornoo as the nation’s new Chief Justice was not a challenging process because she possesses the skills to champion the affairs of the Judiciary.
In an address during the swearing-in of the new Chief Justice at the Jubilee House, Akufo-Addo said Justice Torkornoo has the qualifications to restore public confidence in the judiciary.
Justice Gertrude Torkornoo replaces Justice Kwesi Anin Yeboah who retired in May this year after serving for three years.
President Akufo-Addo in a letter to the Council of State on Tuesday, April 25, said her nomination is to avoid any vacuum that would occur following the retirement of the current Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah on May 24.
“Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah is due to retire from the bench on May 24, 2023, his seventieth birthday. In order to avoid a vacuum and ensure that a new Chief Justice is immediately in office after his retirement.
“I have decided to begin the process of appointment now. Article 144 (1) of the constitution, which governs the appointment of a Chief Justice, requires that, I, first consult with the council of state before seeking the approval Parliament.
“Consequently, I am nominating Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo, a member of the Supreme Court, as the new Chief Justice. I hereby enclose a copy of her curriculum vitae for your attention,” excerpts of the letter said.
Subsequently, she was approved by Parliament on Wednesday, June 7, 2023.
Justice Torkornoo is the third Chief Justice to be sworn in by President Akufo-Addo since he assumed office in January 2017 and the third female chief justice after Georgina Theodora Wood and Sophia Akuffo.
