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Sophia Akuffo

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Sophia Abena Boafoa Akuffo
JSC
Sophia Akuffo undergoing vetting for the role of Chief Justice in the Supreme Court of Ghana
13th Chief Justice of Ghana
24th Chief Justice of Gold Coast/Ghana
In office
19 June 2017 – 20 December 2019
Appointed byNana Akufo-Addo
Preceded byGeorgina Wood
Succeeded byKwasi Anin-Yeboah
Supreme Court Judge
In office
30 November 1995 – 20 December 2019
Appointed byJerry Rawlings
Personal details
Born (1949-12-20) 20 December 1949 (age 74)
Akropong-Akuapem in the Eastern Region of Ghana
Children1 daughter
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Lawyer
  • Judge

Sophia Abena Boafoa Akuffo JSC (born 20 December 1949) was the chief justice of Ghana from 19 June 2017 until 20 December 2019. She had been a judge in the Supreme Court of Ghana since 1995.[1]

Education

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The daughter of a Presbyterian minister, she had her secondary education at Parliament Hill School, Hampstead, London and Wesley Girls' High School, Cape Coast and obtained her Bachelor of law degree from the University of Ghana.[2][3] She furthered her education at the Ghana School of Law where she qualified as a barrister.[2] Akuffo trained as a lawyer under Nana Akufo-Addo, who would later become the president of Ghana in 2017.[4] She has a master's degree in law from Harvard.[3][5][6]

Career

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Sophia Akuffo worked in private practice and was appointed by Jerry Rawlings to the Supreme Court in November 1995. She has been a member of the Governing Committee of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute,[3][7] and the chairperson of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Task Force for several years. In January 2006, she was elected as one of the first judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights:[8] she was initially elected for two years and[9] was subsequently re-elected until 2014 and served as vice-president and president of the court respectively.[10][5]

Akuffo wrote The Application of Information & Communication Technology in the Judicial Process – the Ghanaian Experience, a presentation to the African Judicial Network Ghana (2002).[1]

Chief Justice of Ghana

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On 11 May 2017, Akuffo was nominated as the highest ranking Judge of the Supreme Court of Ghana by Nana Akuffo-Addo, subject to approval by Parliament.[3][5] She was sworn in by President Akuffo-Addo on 19 June 2017 as the thirteenth Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana.[11] The last judgment she was involved in was on 18 December 2019 when the Supreme Court passed a unanimous ruling that courts could sit at weekends and on bank holidays to deal with urgent legal cases.[12] She also spoke of her gratitude to some former Presidents of Ghana. These included John Atta Mills who was her lecturer on Taxation at the Ghana Law School and also nominated her for the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights in Ethiopia. She also cited Jerry Rawlings who nominated her to the Supreme Court in 1995 and John Kufuor who nominated her for the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights in 2006.[3] She became president of this court with the support of John Mahama and was nominated by Nana Akufo-Addo as chief justice.[3][13]

Judicial writings

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  • New Patriotic Party v Attorney-General (also referred to as the CIBA case) 1997 ICHRL 24 (12 March 1997)
  • Abankro and Others Vrs Ansah (J2 2 of 2009) [2016] GHASC 74 (9 March 2016)
  • Banful and Another Vrs Attorney General and Another (J1 7 of 2016) [2017] GHASC 21 (22 June 2017)
  • Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association Vrs Attorney General and Another (J1 4 of 2016) [2017] GHASC 45 (3 November 2017)
  • Chraj Vrs Attorney General and Others (J1 3 of 2010) [2011] GHASC 19 (6 April 2011)

After serving as chief justice, Akuffo retired in 2019.[14][15][16]

On 28 March 2020, Nana Akufo-Addo appointed Akuffo to chair a newly formed COVID-19 National Trust Fund inaugurated during the COVID-19 pandemic.[17][18][19]

She also serves as the chairperson of the board of the University of Ghana[20] and holds membership on several boards of directors of various organizations.[21]

Family

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She has a daughter who goes by the name Violet Padi and two grand children Samuel Osei and Cara Nyame. She has a large extended family including five living sisters but is seen to be closer to the three mentioned above.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Judiciary will use technology for quality justice - Justice Sophia Akuffo". Ghanaweb. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Her Ladyship Chief Justice Sophia A.B. Akuffo Delivers 2019 Alumni Lecture". UNIVERSITY OF GHANA. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Patrons of the Journal". The Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Akufo-Addo for President '08". Archived from the original on 4 February 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Alfa Shaban, Abdur Rahman (12 May 2017). "Ghana to have second successive female Chief Justice". Africa News. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  6. ^ "Her Ladyship Justice Sophia A. B. Akuffo | Presbyterian University, Ghana". 25 February 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  7. ^ Judge Sophia Akuffo Archived 2010-06-18 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Samuel M. Makinda and F. Wafula Okumu, The African Union: challenges of globalization, security, and governance, Routledge, 2006, p. 190
  9. ^ "African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Booklet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  10. ^ The African Court Judges Archived 2010-06-18 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Full list of Chief Justices in Ghana since 1957". Ghanaweb. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  12. ^ "Courts can sit on weekends, public holidays - Supreme Court rules". GhanaWeb. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  13. ^ "I was weak in Arithmetic but Mills passed me – Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo". GhanaWeb. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  14. ^ "Retiring CJ, Sophia Akuffo wants high standards in legal profession maintained". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Sophia Akuffo Bows Out As CJ". DailyGuide Network. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Sophia Akuffo speaks on Anin Yeboah's candidacy". GhanaWeb. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  17. ^ "Sophia Akuffo: Former Chief Justice chairs COVID-19 Fund". Pulse Ghana. 28 March 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  18. ^ "MyJoyOnline.com - Ghana's most comprehensive website. Credible, fearless and independent journalism".
  19. ^ "Former CJ Sophia Akuffo chairs COVID-19 fund — Starr Fm". Starr Fm. 27 March 2020.
  20. ^ "Justice Sophia Akuffo appointed new Chair of University of Ghana Governing Council - MyJoyOnline". 26 July 2021.
  21. ^ "President Akufo-Addo Inaugurates Board of Trustees for the Covid-19 National Trust Fund". Republic of Ghana Ministry of Health. Archived from the original on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  22. ^ "Violet Fredericka Tsotsoo Padi, changing the face of natural cosmetics". News Ghana. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
Legal offices
Preceded by Chief Justice of Ghana
2017–2019 		Succeeded by
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