Approve Torkornoo 'expeditiously' – Akufo-Addo tells parliament

Parliament must fast track the approval process of chief justice nominee Gertrude Torkornoo, President Akufo-Addo has said in a letter to Speaker Alban Bagbin.

“It is my respectful hope that the approval by Parliament of Justice Torkonoo can proceed expeditiously to enable her assume office as soon as practicable following the retirement of Chief Justice Anin Yeboah,” the president said in the letter.

Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah retires as Chief Justice on May 24, 2023.

He would attain the mandatory retirement age of 70 for superior court justices.

President Akufo-Addo said in a letter to the council of state that Justice Torkornoo, who has been on the Supreme Court for the last four years, has been a member of the judiciary for the last 19 years and, thus, "duly qualified and eminently fit to discharge the functions of Chief Justice.”

If approved by parliament, Justice Torkornoo will become the third female Chief Justice in Ghana's history.

Justice Georgina Theodora Wood was the first and Justice Sophia Akuffo, the second.

She would be President Akufo-Addo’s third appointment to the office of Chief Justice since he assumed office in January 2017.

The first was Justice Akuffo followed by Justice Anin Yeboah.